A Leader Lost
by Bright7
Summary: Set straight after Abraham has just been killed by Negan, but instead of Glenn, Rick is the second Lucille victim. This story tells of the events that lead up to Rick being murdered, & with the group losing their leader, Glenn is soon thrust into leadership. He must find a way to fight back against Negan, but can he be successful? or will he fail just as his friends did before him?
1. Life, Death and Consequences

The body of Abraham Ford lay motionless on the gravel, his skull now a pile of blood and mush. Sobs fill the clearing, floating into the night sky. Rick Grimes watches through his tears as the man before him lifts the baseball bat wrapped in barbed wire he calls Lucille.

"Guys! Look at this! Look at my dirty girl!"

The man says as he twirls the bat, sprinkles of blood fly through the air, Rick feels the warmth as it lands on his face. The man standing in front of Rick wore a black leather jacket, he had slicked back black hair and had a greying beard. Rick knew him only as Negan, the man who had just violently murdered Abraham without blinking. Negan struts toward a young woman, who is also kneeling, tears flow down her face. He points the blood covered end of the bat into Rosita's face.

"Sweetheart look at this."

Rosita doesn't move

"Oh damn!"

Negan sees how upset the woman is.

"Were you... Were you two together? That sucks. But if you were, you should know there was a reason for all this. Red… and hell, he was, is, and will ever be red. He just took one or six or seven for the team!"

Negan can tell that the woman kneeling before him isn't paying attention, he gets impatient.

"Take a damn look!"

Negan's command angers the man left of Rosita, Daryl launches to his feet before slamming a right fist into Negan's face. Stumbling backwards, Negan grabs his jaw where a red mark now begins to show. Two Saviors rush from behind Daryl and tackle him to the ground, pinning him. A blonde haired man with a burn scar on the left side of his face walks forward, sticking his crossbow into Daryl's growling face.

"That? Oh, my! That is a no no. The whole thing...not one bit of that shit flies here."

Says Negan, as he chuckles. The blonde haired man called Dwight looks to Negan.

"Do you want me to do it? Right here!"

He sticks the crossbow further into Daryl's face.

Negan shakes his head.

"No, no get him back in line!"

The two men drag Daryl across the gravel and dumps him into the line. Negan points Lucille at Daryl.

"Now that was a pretty fucking stupid idea, and for that!... For that, you gotta pay!"

Negan places a second hand onto the wooden handle of Lucille and raises the bat above Daryl's head. Daryl closes his eyes ready to meet his fate. Unexpectedly a teenaged boy scurries to his feet, the boy sends a kick to Negan's right hand man Simon who is standing close by, his boot impacting between Simon's legs. Simon lets out a yell before falling to his knees, Carl grabs the gun from Simon's belt as he falls. Carl lifts the gun and points it at Negan.

"Carl! No! Stop this!"

Rick pleads to his son, his voice filled with panic. Carl ignores his father before speaking directly to Negan.

"Put the bat down! Don't touch him and I won't shoot you right now!"

Negan lets out a smile.

"Fucking hell kid! You're almost as fucking stupid as this dumbass down here!"

He motions to Daryl, then continues.

"But I do have to admit, you have more mother fucking balls than every single man here combined!"

Negan's smile fades a little as he sees that Carl has kept a serious face, the gun unmoving. He lowers the bat, gesturing with his left hand that he isn't about to crush Daryl's skull just yet.

"Look kid, it doesn't matter if you have that gun pointed at my head! Look around, you have at least a hundred fucking men surrounding you! They all have guns! You shoot me, you, your dad and the rest of this sad group get fucking fucked!"

The sound of guns clicking echo as The Saviors raise their guns at the group. Negan sees that Carl now has a less confident look on his face. He smirks and points a finger.

"Look, you've impressed me, if you promise not to shoot me so I can go home and fuck a wife or two then I promise not to smash in… what's his name again?"

Negan turns to Simon who has recovered. Simon responds.

"His name is Daryl."

Negan looks surprised.

"That actually sounds right!"

Negan extends a gloved hand out.

"All you gotta do is hand me that gun."

Rick looks between his son and Negan, he cautiously raises a hand to Carl.

"Carl, please do it! Hand him the gun!"

Carl's eyes glance sideways to Rick. For the first time in Carl's life he sees genuine fear in his dad's face. A sigh is released from Carl's mouth as he points the gun away, holding it for Negan to take. Negan grins at Rick.

"Thank you for preventing me from killing the little future serial killer!"

Negan forcefully snatches the gun from Carl's hand, he then places it back into Simon's possession.

"Back to your knees!"

Carl complies.

"Now I get that it's emotional, it's been hard and I get it, I really do. But that fucking shit can't go unpunished… so…"

Without warning Negan raises Lucille and drives the bat down, impacting onto Rick's head. A wet thud is heard as Rick takes the blow, his skull cracking against the wire and wood. Carl and Michonne's mouth hang open, gasps and screams come from the rest of the group. Glenn and Daryl look away, unable to see the man they've known from the start die. Negan laughs and pats Carl on the cheek, the boy in shock.

"There you go kid! I didn't touch Daryl, I'm a man of my word!"

A mumbling sound interrupts Negan, Rick rises back up, blood drips down the front of his face. He attempts to look at Carl, Carl wants to look away but something keeps him looking into Rick's bloodshot eyes. Rick opens his mouth.

"C-Carl, I will al-always love you!"

Negan grabs Carl by the shirt collar, moving his face close to Carl's.

"Isn't that sweet!"

Negan takes his hand off of Carl and back onto Lucille before spinning, sending the harsh bat across Rick's face. Rick is pummeled to the ground, now unconscious from the second blow. The entire group look at the ground, not wanting to witness their leader and friend die, all but Carl and Michonne who can't look away, both clearly traumatized. Negan takes a breath.

"You bunch of pussies! I'm just getting started!"

Negan proceeds to strike the bat into Rick's unconscious skull, he raises the bat and swings it down again, again, again, again and again, blood spurts with each hit, Rick's skull now like Abraham's, blood brain and mush, After what seems like forever Negan stops and laughs, Lucille now coated in blood, a piece of flesh hangs off of the barbed wire.

"Lucille is a vampire bat!"

He says gleefully. Looking at the group he notices Glenn staring intently at him. Negan walks and steps in front of him.

"What? Was that joke that bad?"

A hushed voice from Maggie rises amongst the tension

"Glenn!"

Glenn looks at his wife, she also has tears in her eyes. He knows what she means. He lowers his gaze from Negan. A smug looking grin is now on Negan's mouth.

"That is exactly what I fucking thought!"

Negan walks back into the center of the group while whistling, his arms outstretched.

"I am sorry! But it had to be done! I needed you guys to know me."

No one looks at Negan, all eyes still toward the ground, Michonne has finally looked away from the horror, Carl however still stares at his father's body.

"But…"

Negan begins.

"The whole lesson has not been taught, men, grab Daryl!"

Further screams are heard as the same two men pin Daryl to the ground once more. Negan bends down next to Rick's body and picks up the hatchet off of Rick's belt before striding over to Daryl.

"Men, get guns to their heads!"

Multiple Saviors step forward and place gun barrels firm against each group member's heads.

"Anyone moves and everyone dies, do not fucking make this worse than what it has to be!"

Daryl tries to struggle but the force of the men is too strong. Negan points downward.

"Get his arm out straight"

One of the men grab Daryl's right arm. Negan nods.

"You know what to do."

The man then removes his belt and wraps it tight around Daryl's bicep. Negan claps his hands together.

"Simon, you got a pen?"

Simon nods in response and smiles.

"A pen? Yeah I got a pen".

He says before taking a pen from his pocket and tosses it to Negan, who catches it. Negan gets onto one knee and draws a line over daryl's forearm. This causes Daryl to attempt to spit into Negan's face but it falls short. Negan rises and turns to the group.

"Daryl broke the rules! Now he has to pay! All of you remember what is about to happen, and what has already happened when you're out there providing for me!"

Negan looks down at Daryl who is now growling and grunting.

"It'll just take a second, think of it as a parting gift from that prick of a leader of yours ."

Negan chuckles. In one swift motion Negan swings the hatchet down, it slashes into Daryl's arm, passing entirely through and severing the limb.

"Arrrrrrrrrgggghh!"

Daryl lets out a terrifying noise as blood hisses out of the wound. Negan looks at the bloody hatchet and grins before tossing it aside.

"Load Daryl into the truck!"

The men holding Daryl in place lift him up and throw him into the truck, they slam the doors shut. Aaron pipes up.

"What are you doing with him!?

Negan sighs.

"Don't worry your fucking fuckity selves about him, we're going to take him, we have great doctors who'll patch that fucker up! We'll return him in a week when we come visit for our first offering."

Negan smiles one last time, he addresses the broken group.

"Ahh! Welcome to a brand new beginning you sorry shits! I'm gonna leave you a truck. Keep it. Use it to cart the dead ones home and to carry all the crap you're gonna find me.

We'll see you in one week. Until then ta-ta."

Negan raises a hand and turns it into a fist, all at once The Saviors drop the groups melee weapons and make their way to the trucks, soon the group is alone, left reeling from what has just happened, the reality kicking in, their lives now changed forever.


	2. In The Wake of Despair

Glenn looks around at the group, every face broken, still, demolished. His eyes rest onto Maggie, her face lowered, eyes staring deep into the ground. He places a hand in front of him and uses it to lift himself to his feet, he walks through the group, reaching Maggie. Glenn falls next to her and wraps his arms around his wife.

"It's okay Maggie! We're okay!"

Maggie sobs and shakes her head.

"But it's not Glenn… it's not…"

The words don't surprise Glenn but they're no easier to hear come from the person he loves most, he looks around the group once more, she was right…

Carl kneels motionless, still in the exact same place, his eyes don't blink and remain unwavered from the body of his father. Michonne kneels next to the boy, a similar look sits upon her face. She manages to glance sideways at Carl, seeing his state she seems to break out of it, she lays a hand on Carl's shoulder.

"Carl… listen.. We… we need to move them, we need to go before any walkers show up."

Michonne's words go unnoticed by Carl. Across the clearing Rosita gets to her feet, she motions to Eugene and Sasha.

"Help me move Abraham".

Eugene and Sasha stand, Eugene begins to pick up Abraham by the shoulders but Glenn rushes closer to them.

"Wait!"

He walks over to the r.v and opens the door, entering and disappearing for a few seconds before returning with two blankets. He hands one to Eugene.

Eugene tries to reply with something but it just comes out as a sob. Sasha and Rosita get down on their knees, rolling Abraham to one side before placing the blanket beneath his body then wrapping him completely. Taking his shoulders, Eugene picks him up as Rosita and Sasha take each leg. The trio move Abraham into the truck left by Negan. Glenn sees Michonne struggling to move Carl, he puts a hand on Aaron's shoulder.

"Aaron, can you help Michonne get Carl to the r.v? He doesn't need to look at that any more."

Aaron nods and walks to where Michonne and Carl still kneel, Glenn watches as he takes one side as Michonne takes the other side. Gently they lift Carl to his feet and escort him to the r.v, even still he remains catatonic. Aaron and Michonne walk back to Glenn.

"We need to move Rick, can you help me wrap him up?"

Glenn holds the blanket out to Aaron who takes it, Michonne begins to walk towards Rick's body, Glenn holds her either side of the shoulders.

"You don't have to..."

He begins before Michonne cuts him off.

"But I can..."

The three do the same to Rick as what was done with Abraham, wrapping the body in the blanket. Aaron and Michonne begin to bend down but Glenn stops them.

"Um Michonne… this is up to you but can I… can I have a moment with him?"

Tears begin to roll down Glenn's face, Michonne gives him a gentle smile.

"Of course Glenn! I'll go help Maggie into the r.v."

Glenn nods.

"We need to get her to the Hilltop to make sure the baby is okay."

Michonne walks over to Maggie and gently helps her to her feet.

Glenn looks down at the blanket covering Rick, just moments before he was alive, he was their leader and Glenn's friend. Glenn kneels next to Rick.

"I'm sorry Rick... It shouldn't have been you… it shouldn't have been anyone...you were one of my first friends…"

Glenn raises a hand to wipe the tears from his cheeks.

"And not just one of my friends in the apocalypse… you were one of my first friends in all my life… and I know you think you still owed me for saving your life back at the start but you've saved all of ours so many times Rick, each and every day..."

Glenn places a single hand onto Rick's chest.

"And I'm sorry I couldn't save you again this time… but I promise you that I will look out for Carl, Michonne, Judith… I promise you I'll look after everyone. Goodbye Rick, I'll miss you…"

Glenn wipes more tears away before getting to his feet just as Aaron and Michonne appear behind him. Michonne hugs Glenn.

"Ready?"

Glenn nods.

"You?"

Michonne also nods.

The group pick Ricks body up and places him next to Abraham. Aaron gets into the front of the truck and starts the engine, Glenn walks into the r.v. The two vehicles take off, one heading to the Hilltop, the other heading back to Alexandria.

-1 Week Later-

The loud rumble of trucks vibrate through Alexandria, the noise alerting the residents of danger, danger they could not run from or fight back against, Negan and The Saviors had arrived. Glenn, Aaron, Rosita, Sasha, Eugene along with various other members of Alexandria stand in front of the main gate, suddenly the huge iron barrier swings to the left, revealing a man standing at the entrance with a large group of men behind him. Negan lets out a huge beaming grin to greet the group as he steps inside the community, he looks around and extends his arms, Lucille in one hand.

"Well holy fucking shit! This place is magnificent! Look at all the houses, all the space! You assholes have it easy!"

Negan looks around the group, much of who look confused. Negan frowns and points amongst the crowd.

"Judging by the stupid fucking looks on your faces, some of you don't know who I am!"

Negan looks slightly offended.

"My name is Negan, and this is Lucille!"

Negan excitedly points to the baseball bat, holding it high in the air for everyone to see.

"And Lucille here took away that red headed prick and your stupid fucking leader Rick, so unless you want to end up a pile of splattered brains..."

Negan pauses so the last words sink in.

"I would start to know me and my rules, so rule number one! Give me half of your shit right now!"

Negan slams the end of Lucille downward into the concrete, causing half of the group to jump, there's a commotion as the residents leave to gather the supplies. Negan turns to Simon.

"Take the men around the houses, make sure no one's holding out."

Simon nods and raises a hand, The Saviors march into the community and toward the houses. Glenn, Rosita, Eugene, Aaron and Sasha begin to turn when Negan shouts out to them.

"Nope! You five don't fucking move!"

He waves his finger.

"Now that Rick's a pile of mashed shit Rick, we need someone else to show me around this fine establishment, who's the new leader?"

The five survivors don't even look around at each other, no one moves or says a word. Negan looks surprised.

"Oh come on! One of you dipshits must have wanted to take Ricks spot, just waiting for the opportunity? Waiting on good ol' Negan to bash his skull in? anyone?"

The group remain dead silent. Negan becomes frustrated.

"Look! I need someone to show me around!, and I want the new leader to do it, so if a new leader doesn't step up right now… I'm going to bash another fuckers head in soo… 1… 2…"

"It's me!"

Glenn hurries forward before Negan can reach three. Negan takes a breath.

"Huh… the asian... "

Negan notices Glenns look.

"Oh don't get me wrong I'm not racist it's just I didn't take you for a leader."

Glenn motions down the street.

"So should we go?"

He asks.

Negan nods.

"We most certainly fucking should! Lead the way!"

The two men walk down the main street of Alexandria, they approach one of the houses, Glenn notices that Maggie is sitting on one of the porch chairs holding Judith. He tries to walk faster pointing in another direction in an attempt to distract Negan.

"So if we go over there we…"

Negan grabs Glenn by the shoulder.

"Hold your fucking horses, we have a woman right here that I feel like talking to."

Negan walks up the steps to where Maggie sits, Glenn cautiously follows behind. As he reaches the top of the steps Negan grabs Judith's hand.

"And what is this little one's name?"

Maggie instinctively holds Judith closer, she responds, trying not to sound too nervous.

"Her name's Judith."

Negan smiles at Judith.

"And might I ask if Judith here is yours?"

The question stuns Maggie for a second, Glenn cuts in.

"Actually Negan… Judith is… was Rick's daughter."

Negan's face almost looks apologetic but it quickly fades.

"Well tough shit…"

He begins.

"She can blame her stupid ass brother when she's old enough to do so."

Negan steps closer to Glenn, staring him in the eyes.

"Speaking of that one eyed fucker, where is he? I think I need to pay him a visit."

Glenn tries to think of an excuse, anything to try keep Negan away from Carl but there isn't one.

"He's not in a good state…"

Negan waves his hand.

"Don't give a shit, take me to him!"

Glenn leads Negan down the steps as they continue to walk further down the street, Negan leans in close to Glenn.

"That woman back there, she with you?"

Glenn hesitates, not knowing whether or not he should tell the truth.

"Yes she's my wife, she's pregnant with our child."

Negan slaps Glenn hard on the back, knocking the air briefly out of Glenn's chest.

"Well shit son! I gotta give credit where credits due! She is hot as shit!"

Glenn looks confused.

"Um thanks?"

He responds. The two reach a white painted house. Glenn knocks on the door, Negan claps his hands together.

"Time to see the kid!"

The door swings open as Michonne opens it. She looks at Negan then quickly to Glenn. Glenn tries to look as sorry as he can.

"Um hi Michonne… Negan he ah… he wanted to see Carl…"

Michonne glares at Negan who grins back, she finally breaks the stare and steps aside letting Glenn and Negan inside. Michonne wanders to the end of the hall and opens the door. Negan struts into the room, Glenn and Michonne follow. There on the bed lies Carl. His body is motionless, he appears to be sleeping at first glance however his one eye remains open, non-blinking, his chest rising and falling with each breath. Negan lowers his face until it's a centimeter away from Carl's.

"What the hell is wrong with him?"

Negan asks. Michonne shakes her head.

"He's been like this ever since... "

Her voice trails off. Glenn picks up where she left off.

"We've been able to keep him healthy using a drip but he won't eat, talk or move at all."

Glenn looks at Michonne then looks to the floor. Negan shakes his head.

"What a damn shame, I thought this kid was strong… but hell I was wrong! You just bash a kids father's skull to pieces and he becomes a vegetable? What a fucking pussy!"

Michonne launches herself at Negan, she sends a slap across his face. The impact startles him as he rubs where she hit, Glenn quickly grabs Michonne and pulls her away from Negan. Negan turns his head.

"Look… I get it, that was tough to hear for you lady and I admit I may have said too much so I won't kill anyone for that outburst… this time."

Negan's last words become more serious in tone, informing them that if it happens again there will be casualties.

"But…"

Negan continues.

"That will not go unpunished, instead of half we will be taking most of the supplies here!"

Glenn's stomach sinks, he knows what that means… Negan lifts Lucille in his hand.

"Glenn right? Let's go inform my men what the new plan is!"

He is about to walk out the door but suddenly halts.

"Oh kid."

He speaks to Carl.

"Look after this while I take care of business"

Negan tosses Lucille onto Carl, letting out a laugh as he walks past Michonne and out into the street.


	3. An Offering Seized

Glenn follows Negan as he struts down the steps, he calls out to the man in front of him.

"Please Negan! I know what she did was wrong but we need these supplies!"

Negan turns around to face Glenn, his dark eyes staring intensely into Glenn's, he continues to plead.

"With mine and Maggie's baby and everyone else we can't afford not to have the medicine, please!"

Glenn's voice now obvious with desperation, doing anything to try persuade Negan to leave them with what his wife and child need. Negan grimaces as he grabs a passing Savior, whispering in his ear. The man walks into the house before returning with the barbed wire bat. He hands it over to Negan, who raises Lucille to eye level with Glenn, he points to the wooden bat and begins to speak.

"I'm sorry but what the fuck did you just say?!"

Negan's voice is loud and menacing, Glenn takes a step back. Negan steps closer, keeping the distance between them short.

"Did you not see what happened that night? Huh? I bashed in two!... two of your best friend's heads! And not only that, but they were tough as shit!"

Glenn looks to the ground, both not trying to look at Negan and anger him more but also to hide the fact that he now has tears beginning to fill his eyes. He wipes his eyes using his sleeve before facing Negan. Negan grabs him by the shirt.

"So my answer is this! Fuck no!"

Glenn nods quickly as he replies.

"Yes Negan."

Negan smirks before shoving Glenn to the ground, he turns to look down the street where the group of Saviors begin to load various supplies into the back of a large truck. Glenn gets to his feet, he looks at the man in front of him, anger, frustration, sadness and guilt begin to fill every inch of his body. Glenn's jaw clenches as he feels his hand form into a fist, pulling his arm back he prepares to strike Negan.

Suddenly a firm hand grips around Glenn's wrist, stopping any momentum. Glenn caught by surprise turns his head to see Aaron standing next to him. Negan oblivious to what was almost about to happen begins to whistle and walk toward the truck, he slightly turns his head back to the two men, stopping just short enough to not see Aaron still holding Glenn's arm.

"I'll be at the truck, just going to check we have everything we need, don't worry… this will all be over soon."

He begins to walk away. Aaron now fully lets go of Glenn's wrist, he shakes his head.

"You're lucky I stopped you, if you had done what you were about to do, you and maybe a lot more people could be dead right now."

Glenn looks to his feet, clearly ashamed at losing his cool and putting other people in harm's way, he looks to Aaron before quickly looking to his side, unable to meet Aaron's gaze.

"I know… I know… It's just I need Maggie and the baby to be safe and healthy and Negan taking even more of the things they need!... I just lost it, and…"

Glenn trails off, not knowing whether or not to say what he was going to say, Aaron nods,

"And what?"

He asks. Glenn now looks right into Aaron's eyes.

"If Rick were here he'd know what to do! How to handle this mess and how to deal with Negan! I don't Aaron…"

Glenn's voice trembles with emotion.

"I have no idea how to fix any of this or what to do or how to keep any of these people alive including my wife and baby and you have no idea how that feels!"

Aaron remains silent for a long few minutes, unable to string together the right words, instead he brings Glenn into a hug, he replies,

"Glenn, just stepping up like you have is the right thing to do."

The two men eventually reach where the truck is as the last few Saviors load up the last supplies. The entire community stands before it, watching as their chance of survival is taken from them. Negan lifts himself onto the back of the truck before speaking to the crowd.

"Well that wasn't so fucking hard was it? Sure we took more supplies than we originally planned but that is called punishment!"

Negan begins to look around the group of people before growing mad.

"What!? No wham bam thank you ma'am? One of your people attacked me and I just take a few extra supplies instead of letting Lucille get messy! You should all be fucking grateful!"

The Alexandria residents look around at each other before letting out a low miserable 'thank you'. Negan smiles.

"Don't be fucking stupid it was my pleasure!"

Negan bows, Glenn walks to the front of the group.

"What about Daryl!? You said you'd bring him when you came for your first visit."

Negan points Lucille at Glenn, he turns to Simon who is standing next to him.

"Simon, go get the cripple."

Simon walks to the back of the truck, disappearing from view for a few seconds before returning, now dragging Daryl along the truck floor behind him. He shoves Daryl in front of Negan, Daryl remains on his knees hunched over. Negan begins to address the group once again.

"Well despite the woman you all have been fairly compliant in this little business transaction so sure… you can have Daryl back."

As he finishes his sentence Negan extends his right leg and kicks Daryl off of the edge of the truck. Daryl lands heavily onto his back, he begins to gasp for air as it's knocked out of his lungs, Rosita and Aaron rush forward to his side as they help him sit up. Glenn looks at Daryl, his eyes are sunken, his entire clothes and skin dirty. Where his right hand used to be now is just a stump, ending half way between his elbow and wrist, a bloodied bandage covers the wound. Negan hits Lucille against the side of the truck, the engine roars into life.

"We'll be back in two weeks! Get me more shit and no one else will have to die!"

The truck begins to roll away from Alexandria's gate, getting smaller and smaller as the threat of Negan diminishes, at least physically. Glenn walks over to Daryl and crouches, Daryl looks up at Glenn.

"Daryl, are you okay? What happened? Where'd they take you?"

Daryl just shakes his head.

"Dunno, kept me blindfolded the entire time, they 'fixed' this…"

He raises his bandaged arm.

"Kept me in some kind of cell or room, assholes feed me dog food, left me in that damn room the entire time…"

Glenn looks at Daryl more intensely, he sees that Daryl feels broken, something Glenn had never seen from Daryl before.

"Do you know where they live? Anything at all that might tell us where they are?"

Glenn asks. Daryl once again shakes his head.

"Nah nothin'"

Rosita looks at Glenn.

"I'll take him to the infirmary to get him checked over."

Glenn nods and gets to his feet. Aaron and Rosita take either side of Daryl and hoist him up before helping him make his way to a nearby building. Glenn places a hand over his face, he knows that they are still all in a lot of danger.

The next day Daryl walks through the streets of Alexandria, he walks up to a house and takes a big breath before knocking on the door, which Michonne opens. She forces a smile, still suffering from losing Rick.

"Daryl, hey what are you doing here?"

Daryl looks to his feet.

"I came to see how you were and how Carl was."

She lets out a more genuine smile before standing aside.

"Come in."

Michonne leads him into the house and into a room, she points to a seat and Daryl sits, she herself then also sits down. Daryl looks at her.

"Michonne… I'm sorry for what happened it... "

Daryl pauses.

"It was my fault… Rick died because I hit Negan…"

Michonne can see tears start to well in his eyes. She gets to her feet and walks over to Daryl before crouching and places her hand on Daryl's arm.

"It was not your fault Daryl, he's a monster, no one could have known he was going to kill someone else, jesus Daryl it was almost you!"

Daryl looks at her, studying her face, trying to see if she really doesn't blame him.

"How's Carl?"

Michonne just shakes her head.

"There's no improvement, he just lays there Daryl… I don't know what to do…"  
Michonne starts to cry but gets to her feet and hides her face from Daryl, turning away.

"He's in that room if you want to see him."

She points across the hall. Daryl nods and walks to the door before opening it and walking in.

Daryl looks around the small room, all furniture apart from a bed and a chair has been removed, on the bed lay Carl. Daryl walks up to the edge of the bed, taking in what he sees. Carl lays on his back, he looks directly up to the ceiling, his eyes remain still, not blinking or moving. Daryl looks at his chest, still rising and falling, he's alive although seemingly appears dead. Daryl sits in the chair.

"Hi Carl, I don't know if you can see or hear me but it's Daryl."

The man tries to see any kind of response from Carl, nothing.

"I just wanted to check on you, I want you to know that no one blames you for what happened to your dad… and if they do they can go eat shit, I'm to blame… I hit Negan and that lead to Rick dying, it was meant to be me but you saved me... "

Daryl places a hand on Carl's shoulder as he continues.

"I know you would have never done it if you knew what was going to happen to Rick… I never of have wanted it either, he was my brother… but I want to say thank you, cause of you I have a chance to kill that son of a bitch! I promise you and your dad."

Daryl gets to his feet and storms out the door, leaving the house he crosses Alexandria until he reaches a secluded area where targets have been placed in front of the wall. Daryl gets to his knees, pushing leaves and dirt aside. As the patch of ground is cleared a wooden hatch is revealed, Daryl grabs the handle and pulls it upward. In the hole sits a crossbow, the old one he used to use before he got the one Dwight now has from Morgan. Using his one hand he pulls the crossbow out and grabs a bundle of crossbow bolts, he walks over to the targets. Placing the end of the crossbow to the ground he places a foot into the stirrup. He grips the drawstring with his left hand and goes to grab the other side with his right before stopping, he looks at the stump of his right arm. Sneering he attempts to place his arm under the drawstring to allow him to pull. He tries to pull the drawstring up, it only moves a centimeter, he tries again, no movement, the loss of his hand making it too difficult. Daryl lets out a yell of frustration, he picks up the crossbow and heaves it against the wall, it creates a loud clang before falling to the ground. Daryl paces on the spot before falling to his knees, tears stream from his eyes, he now fully broken down out of everything that has happened and his inability to use the crossbow to defend himself, to use it on Dwight, Negan and all the other Saviors. Daryl slumps over, placing his head onto the ground, crying into the dirt below him.

"Daryl?"

The voice surprises Daryl and catches him off guard, he tries to stop crying but to no avail, he looks around to see a figure standing in the shadows of the building.


	4. Broken But Still United

Daryl squints his eyes, trying to make out who the figure is, they call out to him again.

"Daryl? What are you doing?"

Daryl picks up that it's a female voice. Rosita steps forward, now fully in the light. Daryl furiously tries to wipe any trace of him crying away but Rosita has already noticed, she kneels down beside him.

"Daryl what's wrong?"

Daryl sighs before shrugging.

"Ain't nothin wrong."

He replies. Her face gets more serious.

"Don't tell me that bullshit! You're out here crying."

Daryl gets frustrated and quickly stands before walking away.

"It ain't nothin okay?"

Rosita yells out to him in an attempt to get him to stop.

"We can talk about it Daryl! I lost someone too… we all did."

Daryl halts at hearing these words, he considers continuing walking but turns around and sits on a bench nearby. Rosita takes a seat next to him. She looks at him.

"Tell me."

Daryl puts his hands together, resting his arms on his knees.

"It's just, It's all my fault… for Rick I mean… and now I can't even use that stupid thing!"

Daryl nods to the abandoned crossbow. Rosita shakes her head.

"It's not your fault, It's that asshole's!"

Daryl sits up straight and replies.

"Doesn't matter even if that's true, I ain't strong enough to do anything about it…"  
Rosita places her hand on his knee.

"You are, you always have been Daryl."

Daryl begins to feel uncomfortable and shifts his leg, Rosita notices.

"I don't mean it like that Daryl… I just think you need to see who you really are, that's something he was good at…"

Daryl hears pain in her voice.

"Abraham?"

He asks. Rosita smiles and nods.

"Yeah, that idiot always saw the good in people, what they were worth, the best side of them. I know he left me for Sasha but I still loved… love him…"

Daryl pats her knee.

"We'll get revenge, for Rick and for Abraham, one day."

She nods her head. Daryl gets up and walks away.

That night Glenn walks into his bedroom, sitting on the bed facing away from him sits his wife Maggie. Quietly Glenn walks up behind her and wraps his arms around her, resting his hands on her stomach, he kisses her neck.

"Hey honey."

Maggie smiles and places a hand onto his cheek, Glenn releases his hug before taking a seat next to her. She pulls him in for a kiss.

"You okay?"

He asks. Maggie smiles and looks at her stomach.

"Yeah, we're all okay, me, you, our baby. It's just I don't always feel okay Glenn."

Glenn frowns slightly.

"You're thinking about what happened aren't you?"

Maggie looks away but nods. She responds.

"It was horrible… seeing my friends die like that, and then what happened to Daryl and Carl… I'm devastated about losing them but…"

Glenn takes her hands in his, she looks into his eyes.

"I'm so happy it wasn't you or me and I can't help but feel guilty about that Glenn…"  
Glenn sees the pain in his wife's eyes, he pulls her close before speaking quietly into her ear.

"Don't feel guilty Maggie, you're allowed to be happy that we're all here, we need to look to the future, especially now…"

Maggie kisses Glenn once again on the cheek.

"Thank you!"

She whispers. Glenn holds out a finger.

"Speaking of the future, I've decided to travel to the Hilltop with Daryl before sunrise, we need to see if they have any spare supplies for us and for you."

Maggie nods, not wanting Glenn to leave but knowing he must. She can't help but let out a smile.

"When did you become such a good leader?"

Maggie wraps her arms around his neck. Glenn thinks.

"Since I had to."

Glenn stands to his feet and looks out the window.

"I'd feel a lot better if Tara, Heath and Gabriel came back from their supply run… They left three weeks ago, they were due back a week ago."

Maggie gets up and stands behind him, wrapping her arms around Glenn's waist.

"They'll be back, maybe even with supplies, weapons."

His face remains stern.

"I hope so."

Glenn finishes packing his bag, it is now just before sunrise and he was ready to leave for The Hilltop. Glenn looks at Maggie who is blissfully sleeping, he lets out a beaming smile before crossing to her side of the bed. He bends over and plants a gentle kiss on her forehead. Glenn picks up his bag and slings it over his shoulder, as he's about to head out the door he hesitates and grabs a piece of paper and a pen. He scribbles a note that reads

'I love you, be back tomorrow, stay safe x.'

Glenn makes his way to the gate, the rising sun sending portions of light across the community, as he nears the gate he sees Daryl leaning against a running car, a cigarette in his mouth.

"You ready Daryl?"

Glenn calls out to him. Daryl lightly slaps him on the back.

"I'm the one waiting here."

Glenn lets out a small laugh and gets into the driver's seat.

"Let's go then."

Daryl throws the cigarette to the ground and stomps on it, he gets into the car.

"Step on it then Rhee."

The car takes off.

The sun shines brightly down onto the car as Glenn and Daryl pull up to the gates of The Hilltop, Glenn cuts the engine and the two men step out. They begin to walk toward the gate when shouts stop them.

"Halt! What are you… oh it's you guys."

One of the two men standing up on either side of the gate stops shouting when he recognizes the men. Daryl covers his eyes from the sun.

"That's right Kal cut the crap and let us in!"

He says.

Kal nods to the other man and the two open the gate, which swings inwards. Glenn looks up at the other man.

"Eduardo! Is Jesus here this time? He was away the last time we came here."

Eduardo nods and points a direction inside the Hilltop.

"Yeah he just got back before, he's over by the mansion."

Glenn gives the men a thumbs up as he walks inside.

Daryl and Glenn walk through the community until they reach the steps of the mansion, they make out the figure of Jesus, he has long brown hair and a long beard, he wears a long coat with various knives hanging from his belt. Jesus stands speaking to a woman.

"Jesus!"

Glenn calls out to him, Jesus quickly turns to face him and a huge smile appears over his face. He stretches out his arms.

"Glenn! Daryl! I'm so glad..."

Jesus goes quiet as he sees Daryl's bandaged arm, his face looks shocked.

"Daryl oh my god what happened!? Was it a walker?"

Daryl shakes his head, Glenn looks confused.

"Wait you mean no one's told you?"

Jesus returns an equally confused look.

"Told me what? Wait where's Rick?"

Glenn points to the mansion steps.

"Let's take a seat."

Jesus nods before turning back to the woman.

"Give me a minute."

The three men sit. Glenn looks at Jesus with a serious face.

"Maggie got sick, we thought it was something wrong with the baby, we were on our way here, The Saviors intercepted us, Negan himself showed up…"

Jesus now has a hand over his mouth.

"You saw Negan? No one's seen Negan before!"

Glenn nods and continues.

"Jesus he killed Abraham and Rick…"

Jesus gets to his feet and paces a few times before sitting back down.

"Glenn, Daryl I'm so sorry…"

He points to Daryl's arm.

"That was him too?"

Daryl grunts in confirmation.

"We carried on to here that night, got Maggie help, it turned out the baby was okay. The Saviors have already been, they took most of our supplies…"

Jesus shakes his head.

"I can't believe it, I wish I was there maybe I could have…"

He stops when he sees Daryl and Glenn shaking their heads.

"Nothing could be done, he had hundreds of men."

Glenn says. Jesus begins to speak.

"Is there anything we, The Hilltop can do?"

Glenn nods.

"That's why we're here, we were wondering if The Hilltop had any spare supplies at all to provide Alexandria, we'll repay the community somehow."

Jesus looks conflicted, he responds.

"There's not a lot left if I'm telling you the truth… The Saviors have also recently been for their offering, it's why I've been away for so long, I was scouting places for supplies but nothing."

Jesus sees Glenn's face drop but quickly continues speaking.

"I can ask Gregory if we can spare anything though."

Daryl sneers.

"That asshole, he won't do shit!"  
Jesus waves down Daryl, showing he agrees with his opinion of Gregory.

"I know, I know. If things get too bad I have another option, there's another community around the area of Alexandria and The Hilltop, I can try set up a meeting with their leader, see if they can help us."

Glenn holds out his hand as Jesus shakes it. Daryl gives Jesus a nod of appreciation.

"Thank you Jesus, really, I know it's not easy around here with Gregory in charge."

Glenn pauses briefly but opens his mouth again.

"Does The Hilltop have a blacksmith or some kind of craftsman?"

Jesus nods and points to a nearby shed.

"You'll want to see Earl. He works there."

Glenn turns to Daryl.

"Be back soon."

Daryl remains staring at Jesus, who picks up on the cue.

"Was there something else Daryl?"

Daryl replies.

"You can teach me right?"

Jesus looks puzzled.

"Teach you?"

Daryl lifts up his right arm.

"I feel useless with this… I can't use my crossbow, I was right handed so I can't even properly use a knife… you can teach me some stuff right?"

Jesus smiles and gestures in a direction.

"We can start right now."

They walk off into the direction Jesus pointed, for the first time since that night Daryl smiles.

Back at Alexandria Maggie stands in the middle of a group of people, Rosita, Sasha, Aaron and Eugene stand facing her.

"Alright guys, thank you for meeting me here, we need more supplies before Negan shows up again, so the plan is to go out and find anything we can."

The group nod in unison. Maggie turns to the Aaron and Eugene.

"No offence guys but we thought we'd make this a women's thing, anyway we need you guys to defend this place in case something happens."

Eugene looks at Maggie.

"That is certainly a okay with me, to be honest my aspirations of survival out there aren't the highest so I appreciate the command of staying within these walls."

Aaron looks at Eugene.

"Ah what he said, except for the survival thing…"

Aaron realizes he's made no sense.

"It's okay with me I mean. Just be safe out there!"

Aaron hugs Maggie. The group of women walk to the gate and pull it open, a yell from behind them stops the group.

"Wait up!"

Michonne runs toward them, her katana in a sheath slung over her shoulder bobs up and down as she runs, she stops as she reaches the group.

"I'm coming with you guys."

Maggie looks concerned as she places a hand on Michonne's arm.

"I don't know Michonne, maybe you're not ready after everything."

Michonne's face hardens.

"Maggie, I'm ready! Let me go with you!"

Maggie sighs but gives Michonne a smile.

"Fine, it's good to have you back Michonne."

The group of women walk through a forest, Sasha and Rosita hang back from Michonne and Maggie. Rosita leans in closer to Sasha.

"We need to fight back against them!"

Sasha nods discreetly.

"I know Rosita, despite whatever's happened with this group, with us… Abraham would have wanted us to take Negan out."

Rosita grins, she wasn't expecting Sasha to be on her side.

"So what's the plan?"

She asks. Sasha looks around, ensuring there are no walker's around before she drops her guard.

"We do it during his next visit, take him out before he even knows it, get a few more people in on the plan and…"

The loud sound of a branch snapping startles Rosita and Sasha. They spin and raise their knives, Maggie stands in front of them.

Sasha tries to explain.

"Maggie we were just…"

Maggie nods and begins to speak.

"I know, and I can't blame you guys, but we can't fight… not now and maybe not ever…"

She steps closer to the two women, making sure that they're out of earshot of Michonne.

"After what I saw Michonne and you two go through, losing Rick, Abraham… I can't take that chance, Glenn is alive! We're alive! My baby is still alive! And I need to make sure things stay that way. Promise me you'll drop this idea."

Rosita and Sasha look at each other before looking back at Maggie. They both start to nod.

"We promise."


	5. A Friend in Trouble

Glenn closes the door behind him as he walks out of the small shack, he looks up and sees Jesus approaching him, a slight frown on his face as he gets closer.

"How'd it go with Gregory?"

Asks Glenn, Jesus reluctantly shakes his head.

"He refused to give any supplies over to Alexandria, but…"

Jesus pauses as he points a finger upwards, gesturing to Glenn to wait as he opens a pocket on his coat before removing a small white bottle. He shows it to Glenn.

"I managed to sneak this away without anyone noticing, I doubt it'll even get missed."

Jesus hands the bottle over to Glenn who takes it and looks at the label, Jesus continues to speak.

"They're nothing special but they will help with the baby's development."

He gives Glenn a big smile, happy that he could help in any way. Glenn nods his head before returning the smile.

"Thank you Jesus! I appreciate what you do to help me and Maggie."

Glenn shakes Jesus's hand, a yell interrupts them.

"That it? That all that asshat could give us?"

Daryl's voice is loud and angry as he storms over to the two other men, he looks right into Jesus's face.

"C'mon man, we can't survive on this."

Jesus looks apologetic but changes his expression as he begins to speak.

"Look, I know your community is struggling but I have a plan."  
Daryl's anger seems to lessen.

"Go on."  
He says. Jesus does so.

"I'm going to travel back to Alexandria with you guys, it's closer to the community I was talking about, I'm going to meet with their leader and discuss trading, I'll stop off quickly at Alexandria, gather some weapons and head off."

Glenn looks at Daryl who nods his head in response.

"Sounds good, when do we leave?"

Jesus points toward the gate.

"Whenever you guys are ready."

Daryl puts his hand on Jesus's shoulder.

"Let's do it then."

The men begin to walk toward the main gate, the door of the shack swings open and clangs, a middle aged man with balding black hair and a black goatee waves out to Glenn.

"Hey! Glenn right? I've got that thing you asked about!"

The man hurriedly walks over to the group and hands Glenn a medium sized brown box. Glenn smiles.

"Thank you Earl! It'll mean a lot."

Glenn and Jesus carries on walking however Daryl remains still, he calls out to the other men.

"Be there soon!"

Daryl turns to Earl.

"You made Glenn something?"

Earl nods as he responds.

"Yup, why you want something made too?"

Daryl gives a small curt nod, he raises his bandaged right arm.

"My brother, Merle, he lost his too. Son of a bitch came back with a knife attached to him…"

Earl nods.

"You want something similar?"

Daryl gives another curt nod. Earl takes Daryl's arm and looks at it more closely.

"Well it ain't healed enough to be putting something onto it but I can start drawing some plans up."  
Earl looks up at Daryl's face.

"You want a knife attachment too?"

Daryl shakes his head.

"Nah, not exactly."

Michonne, Rosita, Sasha and Maggie quietly walk through the dense forest, Maggie holds her arm out as a snap is heard. Michonne pulls out her katana, Rosita and Sasha raise their guns.

"Get ready! Could be walkers, could be Saviors!"

Says Maggie as she leads the women cautiously closer to the source of the noise. The group of women sneak across the narrow path and come to a small opening in the brush, Maggie begins to move her hand closer in an attempt to move the branches obscuring their view. Suddenly a deer leaps from the opening, startling the women as they scurry backwards, Maggie falls to the ground as the deer charges past her before disappearing into the opposite bush. Michonne holds a hand out for Maggie.

"You okay?"

She asks as Maggie laughs lightly.

"Yeah just a small trip, at least it wasn't…"

Maggie's words stop as the loud growl of a walker echoes from behind Michonne, without warning a thin rotting hand grips around Michonne's arm. Michonne reacts quickly, spinning and grabbing the walkers wrist before tugging hard, the emaciated body of the walker thuds loudly against the dirt. It's teeth gnash together before Michonne shoves the end of the katana into it's eye socket, sending blood onto the surrounding soil.

"Guys!"

The nervous voice of Sasha alerts Maggie and Michonne to their surrounding area, from the edges of the bush walkers begin to spill out, a herd of rotting corpses surrounding the women. Maggie rushes to her feet and raises her gun, Rosita calls out.

"Get in formation!"

The four women come to the middle of the path and get back to back, Rosita and Sasha facing one way, Maggie and Michonne facing the other. Rosita, Sasha and Maggie begin to fire into the approaching walkers, bullets tearing into flesh and through bone, most of them tearing through skulls, sending walkers tumbling backwards. Michonne swings her katana, slicing through legs, preventing the walkers from coming any closer or decapitating their heads. As the woman continue to kill the walkers Maggie notices that Michonne is now furiously hacking at the walkers, as Maggie calls out her name, Michonne begins to step out of formation and into the walkers.

"What the shit is she doing?!"

Rosita has now noticed what Michonne has done. The nearby walkers begin to focus on Michonne, reaching out with gnarled hands and attempting to bite the woman with sharp teeth. Soon Michonne is surrounded, but keeping the undead horde at bay, the sound of metal hitting bone rings out from within the chaos as she cuts down the undead. Maggie looks frantically at Rosita and Sasha.

"We need to help her!"

Rosita raises her gun to the nearest walker but Sasha quickly pulls her wrist down, stopping her from firing.

"What the hell are you doing!?"

Rosita yells at Sasha. Sasha shakes her head.

"You might hit Michonne! We can't take that chance!"

Michonne continues to swing her katana in all directions, blood sprays over her body, sweat runs down her forehead and into her eyes. All she feels is fury, for everything she's been through and what's happened, the anger begins to swarm her. Suddenly a hand wraps around her upper arm, she spins and swings the katana into the direction of the owner of the hand. Michonne halts the blade as she sees Maggie standing there, her hand on Michonne's shoulder, she sees the horror in Maggie's eyes, Michonne looks down.

The edge of the blade sits mere inches from Maggie's stomach.

Michonne drops the sword and places both hands over her mouth, her knees shake as she begins to realize what almost happened. Maggie tries to step towards Michonne.

"Michonne it's okay, you didn't… I'm fine!"

As Maggie takes another step Michonne sprints off into the thick bush, the other women begin to chase after her.

The huge metal gate screeches open as Glenn, Daryl and Jesus approach the entrance of Alexandria, Glenn looks up at the guard post and sees the figure of Eugene standing there, holding a rifle in one hand. He waves his hand in Eugene's direction.

"Any problems while we were away?"

Eugene shakes his head.

"Negative."

He replies.

As the gate opens fully another man is revealed, standing in front of the arriving men. Glenn holds his hand out to the man.

"Spencer, what can I do for you?"

The other man looks at Glenn's hand before ignoring it, Spencer walks past Glenn and right up to Jesus. He then turns to Glenn.

"And who is this?"

Jesus begins to speak.

"Hi, my name is P…"

Spencer places his hand in front of Jesus's face, forcing him to stop speaking.

Spencer looks at Jesus.

"I wasn't asking you."

Glenn steps in between Spencer and Jesus.

"This is Jesus, he's here to help, he's from the Hilltop."

Spencer smirks and scoffs.

"The Hilltop? As in the same place that got us into this mess?"

Glenn moves his face closer to Spencer.

"He's here to help, he's our guest!"

Spencer looks down into Glenn's eyes.

"My mother was the leader here once, then Rick, now it's you and that wasn't by anyone else's choice but yours!"

Glenn begins to feel the anger in his chest.

"I didn't have a choice Spencer, you know that."

Spencer raises both hands and steps around Glenn, closer to Jesus.

"Well…"

He begins.

"I don't think Jesus should be here!"

Without any warning Spencer attempts to shove Jesus. Jesus quickly reacts and steps to one side, avoiding Spencer's arms, he then spins and sends a kick into Spencer's back, sending him flying onto his chest into the ground. He begins to groan. Daryl lets out a chuckle and looks at Jesus who just shrugs his shoulders. Glenn raises his voice to make sure Spencer can hear him.

"Like I said, Jesus is our guest and is welcome here."

Glenn turns back to Daryl and Jesus and just shakes his head, Eugene who has now been interested by the altercation has come down from the guard post. Glenn looks around the community and notices a lack of people. He looks at Eugene.

"Eugene where is everyone? Where's Maggie?"

Eugene begins to respond.

"The women who also included your wife decided to go outside the walls and…"

Eugene's sentence is cut short as the question is answered itself as Maggie, Rosita and Sasha jog through the gate, all the women look exhausted and have bits of tree and leaves stuck to their clothes and hair. Maggie heads straight for Glenn and wraps her arms around him. Glenn notices the look in her face.

"Maggie what happened? Where have you been?"

Maggie releases him from her hold before desperately trying to explain everything to Glenn.

"We went out looking for supplies for Negan's next visit but we got surrounded by walkers and Michonne she…"

Maggie stops, not wanting to tell Glenn what happened, Rosita notices her pause and speaks.

"Michonne lost it, she started to put down walkers like a mad woman, she almost hurt Maggie and the baby."

Rosita's words startle Glenn who looks down at Maggie's stomach as he places his hands onto it.

"Are you okay?!"

He eagerly asks. Maggie nods and replies.

"I'm fine but Michonne… she took off into the woods, we couldn't find her. She's out there all alone."

Glenn nods before walking into the middle of the group.

"Alright we need to head out now to find her, she can't be out there alone! Not in the state she's in and not with The Saviors around."

He points to Rosita, Daryl and Sasha.

"You three, myself and Aaron will go out and search for her, if we can't find her by sundown we head back here and continue tomorrow, Sasha, let Aaron know he's needed! We leave in ten minutes!"

Spencer watches as the group walk out the gate, disappearing from view as the gate slams shut, he looks around and sees Jesus talking to Maggie. He strides over to Jesus, Jesus looks at him.

"Oh it's you, you're not going to try to cheap-shot me are you? Cause I don't want to put you on your ass again."

Spencer grimaces, not appreciating being reminded of the pairs previous encounter, he swallows his shame and opens his mouth.

"Can I ask you something?"

Jesus looks at Maggie who is hiding a smirk from Spencer.

"I'll talk to you later Maggie."

Maggie nods and walks away, Spencer sighs before asking his question.

"What you did to me, before. I want to be able to do that. You're going to teach me!"

Jesus laughs at Spencer's directness.

"Well thanks for asking, but I don't think…"

Spencer interjects.

"Please… The Saviors, they… scare me. If things turn bad I want to be able to defend myself."

Jesus looks at Spencer questionably but sees that Spencer is being genuine, he nods.

"Okay, I'll teach you, but you listen to me! Got it?"

Spencer grins and nods.

"Got it."

Jesus moves to create space between himself and Spencer.

"Okay so I can teach you a kick that will put anyone no matter how big, onto the ground."

Spencer nods eagerly.

"Show me!"

Jesus proceeds to slowly go through the paces of the kick, instructing Spencer how to perform each step. Once he's finished he motions to Spencer to try. Jesus watches as Spencer attempts to perform the kick, he notices that Spencer's technique is wrong and that there is no power behind the move. Once finished Spencer stands tall and smiles broadly, apparently proud of his efforts. Jesus begins to speak.

"Okay so that's a start but we have a long way to go."

Spencer shakes his head.

"Are you kidding!? I've got it down already, I don't need your help anymore."

Jesus can't help but grin, he waves his hand.

"You can believe that if you want but please whatever you do, do not go and try it out on anyone."

Jesus's words go unheard.


	6. An Unwanted Fate

The group follow Daryl through the trees, he crouches as he walks, tracing his fingers over the dirt. Glenn places his hand on Daryl's back.

"Anything?"

He asks. Daryl nods.

"Been tracking her for awhile, only one pair of tracks so she didn't get into trouble at this stage, judging by the spacing though she's real tired."

Daryl gets to his feet and continues, he leads the group to a cluster of bush, Glenn points to the others to get ready, Daryl steps behind the rest. As Glenn nods the group burst through the bush. They emerge into a clearing, Daryl quickly looks at the tracks again.

"Tracks end here."

Glenn and the rest of the group all look confused. Aaron speaks.

"What do you mean they end?"

Daryl looks sad as he replies.

"Her tracks end, there's tire tracks here, she was taken…"

The group remain silent, looking at each other hopelessly.

Michonne's eyes flicker open, the bright light making it hard for her to make out anything inside the room. As her eyes adjust she looks downwards and sees that she's lying on a bed, she tries to sit up but restraints around her wrists and ankles stop her. She lies back down and lets out a loud sigh, a noise across the room makes Michonne look to her side. Standing beside a bench stands a young woman, she has fair skin and shoulder length brunette hair, she wears a black tight fitting dress. Michonne's sigh has alerted the woman to her presence, the woman grabs a water bottle from the bench and walks over to where Michonne lies. She moves the water to Michonne's mouth, Michonne takes a drink from the bottle. The woman looks at Michonne, Michonne looks back.

"Where am I?"

The woman looks worryingly at Michonne as she replies.

"My name is Sherry, you're at The Sanctuary."

Michonne recognizes the name, she tries to remain calm. The woman continues speaking.

"A group of men here, they call themselves The Saviors, they found you out in the woods, you were unconscious, Doctor Carson thinks it was from dehydration. You were bought here for your own safety."

Michonne begins to plead to Sherry.

"Please you have to get me out of here, I…"

A loud voice from the hall is heard, drowning out Michonne's voice.

"Sherry! How is our guest doing?"

Michonne can't help but watch as Negan walks through the door, he walks up to Sherry and wraps his arm around her back before kissing her. As the two stop he looks down at Michonne, a smile creeps across his face.

"Holy shit! I was told we had a guest but I sure as fuck did not know it was you!"

Negan's voice is filled with glee. He turns to Sherry.

"This must be my fucking birthday! Sherry, leave us to talk here, go up to my room, I will be there shortly."

Sherry kisses Negan on the cheek before walking to the door, she glimpses back, a sorry look on her face before she walks out of the room. Negan Grabs a chair and pulls it next to the bed, he sits in it and leans over Michonne.

"Well now you're here I have plans for you!"

Michonne glares at him.

"Go to hell!"

Negan laughs as he responds.

"I don't think so but I sure as hell know that is exactly where your friends will be if they suddenly decide that our little agreement isn't for them."

He leans closer.

"You see, you're going to be my little secret weapon, if any of those pussies try anything, I will use you against them, and we both fucking know that it would work. So what this means is that you'll be staying here for awhile… but don't worry, it's a hell of a lot better than what happened to that stupid prick named Rick!"

He gives Michonne one last smile, knowing that mentioning Rick has hurt her. He gets to his feet before walking to the door, he turns back to her.

"You know what? I can still hear that sound."

He makes the swinging gesture of using a baseball bat. He makes a cracking sound with his mouth. He bows to Michonne.

"Now if you'll excuse me, I have things to take care of."

Negan walks out of the room, tears begin to fill Michonne's eyes.

Glenn kneels on the grass, he looks at the grave before him that reads 'Rick Grimes'. He lowers his head.

"I'm sorry Rick… I'm trying, I really am but I can't help feel like I'm failing. After you died I promised myself that I'd look after Carl, Judith and Michonne for you but well…"

He pauses shortly.

"I just don't know what I'm doing anymore, I feel like giving in everyday, handing the problems over to someone else but I know that's not what you'd want me to do so I promise to try for you Rick, I'll make you proud!"

A small rustle of leaves makes Glenn turn his head, he sees a figure standing behind him, he realizes who it is.

"Carl!?"

The young boy remains silent, still unable to speak but now able to walk. Glenn gets to his feet and brushes off the dirt from his knees before walking to Carl. He looks into his face, a kind of blank look still remains in his eye. Glenn puts both of his hands onto each of Carl's shoulders.

"Carl, I'm sorry for what happened to your dad, I know you loved him but I want you to know we all love you too. I'll make it right one day… I promise Carl."

Glenn removes his hands from Carl's shoulders and picks up a brown box from Rick's grave, he removes the lid and reaches into the box. He pulls an object out and shows it to Carl. In his hand is a medium sized bronze statue of a man, a man that resembles Rick. Glenn places it into Carl's hand.

"I had it made at the Hilltop, I took a photo of Rick from his room, I just wanted something you could have to memorialize him…"

Glenn gives the blank face of Carl a gentle smile before walking away into the darkness, as Glenn disappears, a smile crosses Carl's face.

-One Week Later-

Loud clangs ring through Alexandria as the barbed wire bat is struck against the metal gate.

"Little pig! Little pig! Let me in!"

Negan's voice booms from the other side of the gate. Glenn nods at Aaron and Eugene who pull the gate open, Negan smiles as he comes into view, Lucille raised over his shoulder.

"Well hello there! Are we ready for our second offering?"

Glenn nods quietly. Negan chuckles and gestures his men to come inside the community.

"Only half this time men!"

Negan walks over to Glenn.

"Speaking of bring me that woman with the sword and Daryl, I want to speak to them!"

Glenn shakes his head.

"I can't bring you Michonne… she went missing a week ago, we haven't been able to find her."

Negan puts an overly shocked look on his face.

"Oh my god! That is some unlucky shit right there! Have any idea where she's gone?"

Glenn once again shakes his head.

"We think she's been taken."

Negan lets out a fake gasp, raising a hand to his mouth before he speaks.

"Who would take her? That is a damn tragedy, I hope whoever is responsible is found soon."

Glenn picks up on what Negan is hinting at but remains calm.

"I'm sure they will be."

Glenn replies. Negan points Lucille at Glenn.

"Anyway bring me old one handed Daryl! I have a job for that fucker!"

Glenn becomes curious.

"Job? What kind of…"

Negan shakes his head.

"None of your goddamn business! Now go get me my fucking Daryl!"

Glenn nods and quickly leaves before Negan grows madder, as he leaves Negan is left alone. He begins to whistle but a voice cuts it short.

"Hi your Negan right?"

Negan spins and sees Spencer standing in front of him.

"Of course I fucking am but the question is who the fucking fuck are you?"

Spencer smiles and puts out his hand.

"Hi, I'm Spencer."

Negan doesn't even look at his hand before continuing to walk away. Spencer rushes after him.

"Sir I just wanted to talk to you! You see my mother was the leader here and…"

Negan places Lucille against Spencer's chest.

"Look I don't fucking care who you are, what do you want!?"

Spencer smiles at Negan before talking.

"Well as I was saying my mother was leader here but since she passed I've hated it here, I was just wondering if you'd want a strong survivor like myself at your community?"

Negan lets out a loud chuckle.

"You!? Look at you you're just a massive fucking pussy!, I bet you couldn't even do shit! So why don't you go fuck off before Lucille here puts you out of your misery."

Negan pushes Spencer to the side and begins to walk down the street. Spencer glares at Negan, he goes to walk away but stops and turns around. He begins to run up to Negan and tries to perform the kick that Jesus had taught him. Spencer's foot launches into Negan's back but fails to throw Negan to the ground, Negan lets out a yell.

"What the shit!?"

He turns to see Spencer getting to his feet, he begins to charge at Spencer who places his hands out in front of him in defense. Negan grabs Spencer by the shirt and throws a hard punch across Spencer's face before repeating. Each punch causing a loud thud sound and blood from Spencer's mouth, Negan punches Spencer one last time before releasing his shirt, Spencer thuds to the ground. Groans come from the beaten man's mouth, blood runs from his lips and cheek. Negan stands above Spencer.

"You tried to fucking attack me! I should fucking gut you right here like the fucking coward you are!"

Negan removes a large knife from his belt but quickly places it back when he regains some composure. He shakes his head.

"No, that'd be too fast and not painful enough."

The residents of Alexandria now begin to swarm around Negan and Spencer, Glenn emerges from the crowd and steps to the front.

"What's happening here!"

Glenn demands. Negan turns to Glenn and points to where Spencer lies.

"This pussy tried to attack me when my back was turned! Now I'm going to punish him!"

Glenn takes a step closer.

"Negan please, you've hurt him enough, he won't do it again, I promise!"

Negan shakes his head.

"Nope I'm not listening! Punishment is how we're where we are today! Anyway… you should be glad I'm getting rid of a douche like him."

Glenn takes another step closer.

"What do you mean getting rid of?"

Negan turns to Simon who has also returned from gathering supplies.

"Simon, get me some rope!"

Negan then grabs Spencer from his shirt and drags him across the ground until they reach the gate, Negan lifts Spencer to his feet before heaving him to the outside of the community. The residents all rush to the gate, Negan takes a step so that he is also outside of the community, he removes a gun from the back of his belt and fires a single shot into the air. Glenn once again steps to the front of the crowd.

"What are you doing! That'll draw walkers!"

Negan smiles at Glenn.

"I know."

Negan then lifts Spencer to his feet one more and pushes him against the partially opened gate, it lets out a clang as Spencer collides into it, unable to stop Negan in his pain and part unconsciousness. Simon hands Negan the rope and Negan proceeds to tie Spencer's wrists and ankles to the metal bars of the gate. Negan gives Spencer a pat on the cheek.

"I was right, you were a fucking pussy!"

He then steps back inside the community and clicks his fingers, a couple Saviors slide the gate fully shut. Negan turns to the horrified onlooking residents, he stretches his arms out either side of him.

"Now fucking watch this shit!"


	7. Choices Taken

Low rumbles of familiar growls begin to come from the surrounding trees, one by one walkers step from the depths of foliage, drawn in by the noise of Negan's gunshot. Their sunken eyes begin to peer around the area, looking for any sign of food. The growling begins to stir Spencer from his unconsciousness, he wearily looks around before seeing that he's been tied to the gate, he begins to tug at the rope to no avail. Spencer looks upwards at the incoming walkers who have noticed his movement, he begins to panic, now frantically thrashing against the bonds. Glenn rushes forward from the other side of the gate toward Negan, Saviors quickly raise their guns.

"Please Negan! Stop this!"

Glenn pleads, Negan waves a single finger.

"Uh ah! This is happening! He forced my hand!"

Glenn looks to the ground, knowing that nothing can be done. Spencer hears the voices behind him, he tries to look over his shoulder.

"Hey! Hey! Anyone!? Please help me! Help!"

Spencer's voice is filled with dread and fright, his words only just being audible now the walkers are inches from him. The closest one grabs his outstretched arm, opening it's blackened mouth to reveal a gaping hole. The walker brings it's mouth around Spencer's arm, ripping it's teeth into the flesh. Spencer lets out a blood curdling scream as blood drips out of the wound, another walker grabs his chest and sinks it's teeth into his exposed neck, another horrifying scream escapes Spencer's mouth. Negan gives the onlooking crowd who have mostly now decided to look away a fake wince.

"Well shit that must really hurt!"

He says, trying to hide the amusement in his voice but it being transparent anyway. As Spencer continues to scream more and more walker's make their way to his thrashing body, ripping and tearing flesh off of his bones, filling their eternally starving stomachs. Soon the screams fade away, leaving the quiet sobs and the sounds of chewing meat to float through the air. Spencer's body now remains still, only moving when a walker bites into it, blood runs all over the concrete below. Glenn looks around, only Daryl and himself continue to look at the scene, the other residents deciding to face away, remaining silent or crying. Rosita kneels on the ground, not crying but also clearly not okay. Negan takes a sigh before strutting over to where Glenn stands, he elbows Glenn in the arm.

"What do you think? Reckon he's dead yet?"

Negan says as he lets out a loud laugh. He then whistles and points Lucille toward the small herd of walkers.

"Men, put those fuckers down!"

Five Saviors each holding rifles step forward to the gate, they each stick the end of the gun's barrel through the narrow spaces of the gate. Gunfire rings out as the men pull the triggers, the bullets tear through the walker's skulls until they all lie at the feet of Spencer's body. As the men stop firing Negan walks to the gate and pulls it open before stepping out to the other side. Glenn and some of the other residents step closer, Negan looks at the remains of Spencer up and down.

"Well jesus! They sure as hell ripped him a new one."

Glenn looks as well, most of Spencer's body has now been eaten, mostly bones remain, loose hunks of meat hang from certain sections. Only Spencer's head remains fully intact. Suddenly Negan raises Lucille in his hands and slams the bat down into the skull of Spencer's body, bits of brain matter and bone split off. Glenn turns away, now having had enough of seeing what Negan has had done to Spencer but also the memories of Abraham and Rick being brought back up. Negan relentlessly smashes Lucille into Spencer's corpse, pummeling his skull until nothing is left, he takes a breath as he stops.

"There! I stopped him from turning! See? We aren't monsters!"

He grins at the Alexandria residents. Daryl walks up to Negan as he walks back through into the gate, Negan ignores him and walks straight past, instead stopping in front of where Rosita kneels. He looks down at her and holds the handle of Lucille out to her.

"Sweetheart, it seems Lucille has gotten a bit messy, go wash her for me will you?"

Rosita feebly takes Lucille in her hands, not fully back to her senses yet, she stands before taking Lucille away. Negan turns back to Daryl.

"Ahh Daryl! How's the arm?"

Daryl stays quiet, only steering into Negan's eyes. Negan scoffs.

"Fine don't answer, I didn't really fucking care anyhow."

Daryl breaks his silence.

"Glenn told me you wanted me for something."

Negan nods and grabs Daryl's shoulder tightly.

"That's right."

He begins.

"You see Dwighty boy has taken quite a liking to that crossbow of yours but still needs a little work on how to use it properly."

Daryl sneers before replying.

"Why the hell should I give a shit?"

Negan laughs.

"Dwight! Come here!"

A lanky figure appears from behind the large group of Saviors, his long blonde scraggly hair covering the scarred part of his face, a crossbow in his left hand. Negan smiles as he sees Daryl's reaction to Dwight.

"So because Dwight here is one of my best men, he will be staying here at Alexandria for a while, you Daryl, will teach him how to use that crossbow."

Daryl spits on the ground, he points at Dwight with his left hand.

"Like hell!"

Negan's face straightens.

"Oh you will! Unless you want that other hand gone as well!"

Daryl paces on the spot, Glenn quickly runs over to Daryl, moving his mouth next to Daryl's ear so only he can hear.

"Just do it Daryl."

Daryl grunts.

"Fine…"

Dwight keeps looking straight ahead at Daryl. Negan claps his hands together.

"Great! Oh and I will add, if anything happens to Dwight while he is here, you will all die the same way Spencer just did!"

Rosita appears from a nearby house, holding Lucille. She walks up to Negan, a blank look still in her eyes. Negan takes Lucille from her.

"Well look at that! Just in time! And with a clean Lucille!"

He steps in front of Glenn.

"This is the second time I've had a problem with one of your people, if it happens again, let's just say I'll have to use Lucille on someone a little more close to you…"

The words shock Glenn. Negan leans closer.

"Spoiler alert she may be pregnant and hot as shit!"

He leans back away from Glenn, leaving him shocked. He raises Lucille into the air.

"Roll out!"

As the words leave his mouth the Saviors begin to follow him out of the gate, taking in the last of the supplies yet to be carted into the trucks, moments later they are all gone, the only signs of their visit being Dwight and Spencer's remains. Dwight steps in Daryl's direction, he shoves Daryl in the shoulder.

"Hurry up asshole! Start teaching!"

Daryl steers intently, he points in the direction of the targets.

"That way."

Dwight begins to walk in the direction Daryl pointed, Glenn steps beside.

"Jesus has set up a meeting with the other community, he'll be here soon, he said that he'll escort a group of us with him. Keep Dwight busy, we can't afford to let him see that Alexandria and The Hilltop are working together."

Daryl nods briefly before making his way in the direction Dwight had walked. Glenn trudges to the entrance of the community and steps out of the gate, he looks at Spencer.

"I'm sorry, you may have been an idiot at times, but no one deserves this…"

Glenn lifts up the side of his shirt to grab the handle of his knife, he pulls it out of the sheath. He begins to cut the rope keeping Spencer tied to the gate.

"What the hell?"

A voice behind Glenn makes him spin and hold the knife out, he sees Jesus looking at the gruesome scene.

"Glenn what is this?"

Glenn cuts the final bits of rope, Spencer's body thuds to the ground.

"I'll give you three guesses."

Jesus shakes his head, he replies.

"Negan did this? Who? What is this?"

Glenn places the knife back within his belt.

"It's Spencer, Negan strung him up out here, let the walkers eat him alive."

Jesus removes his beanie.

"Spencer? But why?"

Glenn responds.

"He tried to attack Negan, it didn't work how he expected I guess."

Jesus lifts both hands to his head, he covers his face. Glenn picks up on the response.

"What is it?"

He asks. Jesus lowers his hands, he looks guilty.

"I think this is my fault, Spencer asked me to teach him some things, he thought he had it perfected but I told him he didn't… I shouldn't have even…"

Glenn sees how bad Jesus feels, he stops Jesus before he can finish his sentence.

"It's not your fault, you told him he wasn't ready and even if he was it was his choice to attack Negan."

Jesus looks at Spencer's corpse.

"Maybe… anyway, I'm ready to go when you are."

Glenn nods as he speaks.

"Just let me get a group together, meet us outside the walls, Negan left one of his lieutenants here, it'd be better if he didn't see you."

Back inside the walls Glenn meets Maggie, Sasha, Eugene and Aaron at the gate. Glenn looks at the group.

"Alright, Jesus is outside, everyone ready to go?"

The others nod in agreement, Glenn and Aaron tug the gate open, Spencer's body now no longer there, having been moved to the house next to the cemetery for the time being.

"Hey! Where the hell do you guys think you're going?"

The group turn to see Dwight marching toward them, Daryl follows closely behind. Glenn shrugs his shoulders.

"Going out to get more supplies for Negan, gotta make sure we're not light on the offering."

Dwight looks carefully at Glenn, considering what has been said.

"Better get going then."

Dwight replies. The group walk out the gate. They walk down the street until they get out of sight, turning and walking into an old ruin of a building they see Jesus leaning against one of the walls. He smiles.

"Time to go to The Kingdom!"

The sound of wood cracking can be heard as a crossbow bolt jams into the target, landing to the right of the bullseye. Dwight lowers the crossbow, he scowls. He turns to Daryl.

"Well?"

Daryl glares back at the man.

"What?"

Dwight gets angry, jabbing his finger into Daryl's chest.

"You're here to teach me, so do it!"

Daryl sits on the table behind him.

"Like I've said, take a breath before you shoot, aim lower than what you think you need to."

Dwight makes a noise, dismissing Daryl's advice.

"Yeah whatever."

He places the crossbow end into the ground and places a foot into the stirrup before pulling the drawstring upwards, stopping as he hears a click. Daryl watches on, jealous he can no longer do that. Dwight places a bolt into the crossbow and lifts it to eye level, he aims.

"You know…"

He begins.

"I didn't mean to kill her, that woman I mean."

Daryl feels a pang of sadness. He responds to Dwight.

"Her name was Denise."

Dwight pulls the trigger, the bolt launches into the target once more, this time to the right again but higher up. He frowns and points at the target.

"I wasn't aiming for her then either… it was you I was aiming for…"

He watches as Dwight loads another bolt into the crossbow, he aims once more, turning his back to Daryl. Daryl can feel his temper rising, he quietly removes the knife from behind his back, he stands up and begins to creep toward Dwight, he raises the blade.

Clang! The sound scares Daryl and he quickly lowers the knife, hiding it behind his back, Dwight pulls the trigger again before turning to look at what caused the sound. Both men squint, looking across the streets to see the main gate opening. Two people walk into Alexandria, a man and a woman. The man is dark skinned, he wears all black and has a bald head, the woman wears blue jeans and a dark brown jacket, black hair sits in a ponytail down her back. Daryl looks at Dwight.

"Yeah? Well you can explain that to Denise's girlfriend, she's just walked through the gate."

Dwight's face drops.


	8. A New Chance

The group walk through the barren streets, old shops with shattered front windows sit either side of the path, green vines twist and turn up the walls, slowly strangling the chipped bricks. Jesus leads the group, Maggie holds Glenn's hand as they walk, he looks at her face and smiles. She catches him looking at her and gives a small smile.

"What?"

She asks. He shakes his head before answering.

"Nothing, just thinking how lucky I am."

Maggie gives his hand a tight squeeze. Something comes to Glenn's mind.

"How's Enid been?"

Maggie's smile disappears, she looks at Glenn while shrugging.

"I don't really know, since Carl is the way he is she doesn't hang around anymore… I've seen her visit him a few times but I think she's staying outside the walls mostly."

Glenn gives Maggie a sympathetic look, he knows how much Maggie cares about Enid, and how much she's worried about her being outside the safety of the walls. Jesus turns his head over his shoulder and calls back to the group.

"We're almost there! It shouldn't be more than…"

A growing loud noise prevents Jesus from finishing his sentence as he draws a machete from his belt, the rest of the group follow his lead. Two horses gallop from within an alleyway, upon them sit two men in armour, a spear in either man's hand. One of the riders stop the horse in front of the group while the other halts behind them, both men lower their spears to the nearest person. The man at the front begins to speak.

"Halt! You are now in the land of The Kingdom! If thy have no proper reason to be here, one should answer to the wrath of King Ezekiel!"

Jesus rolls his eyes and places the machete back into his belt, he gestures to the rest of the group to lower their weapons, no one does. Jesus looks up at the man on the horse.

"Really Daniel? We went through this already last week, drop the crap."

The man called Daniel looks at Jesus for a minute before raising his spear.

"Oh Jesus right? Sorry, took me a while to remember you."

He points to Glenn and the rest of the group.

"These the people from that community you were discussing with the King?"

Jesus nods, he looks around and notices they still have their weapons drawn. He points to his belt, showing it's okay to put the weapons away.

"They're good people I promise."

Daniel nods.

"That is not me to decide Jesus, it is King Ezekiel's judgement."

Jesus nods.

"Let's go then."

They walk for five more minutes, escorted by the two soldiers. Soon they stand before what appears to be an old school, Glenn looks at the community. Big metal walls have been constructed around the area, barbed wire runs along the perimeter of the walls and a big metal gate sits directly in front of where they stand. Daniel gives the men on top of the gate a nod, it swings open. He turns his horse so that he faces Glenn and the rest of the group, he smiles.

"Welcome to The Kingdom!"

The group walks into the community, buses sit parked behind the wall, giving it extra support, gardens sprout from the dirt all over the grounds. People of all ages roam around the safe zone, some seem to be learning, doing washing, gardening, marching, practicing with weapons and some just chat with one another. Glenn looks around in amazement at the scale of The Kingdom, his eyes stop on two of the residents that have begun to walk toward him, an older lady with grey short hair and a dark skinned man with short shaved black hair, in one hand he holds a staff. Glenn squint his eyes trying to look closer at the approaching people, suddenly his mouth drops.

"Morgan!? Carol!?"

The two people now stand directly in front of him, both their faces mimic Glenn's. The woman replies.

"Glenn? What are you doing here!?"

He looks at his feet, as he looks up his expression shows sadness and hurt.

"We have something to tell you…"

"Where is he!?"

The voice is filled with anger, Tara stands in front of Daryl, her hand is raised and pointed at Daryl's chest. Daryl shrugs before he replies.

"Look Tara I don't know… he was here but he slinked off about five minutes ago, haven't seen him since."

Tara runs her hand through her hair. She looks into Daryl's eyes.

"What the hell is he doing here anyway?"

Daryl swallows hard, he goes to open his mouth but nothing comes out. He slowly lifts his right arm up, revealing his missing hand. Tara's mouth drops open, she can't help but grab his arm, either trying to look closer or make sure it's real. She looks at Daryl.

"Oh my god Daryl what happened!?"

Daryl puts his arm back down to his side.

"It was Negan, that outpost before you guys left, it wasn't all of them… they ambushed us, he… he killed Abraham and then he killed Rick…"

Tara's eyes instantly begin to tear up, she falls to the ground. Daryl gets to his knees alongside her, he places an arm around her shoulders. Tara shakes her head, causing the tears to hit the concrete.

"I don't understand?"

Daryl continues.

"He beat them to death with a baseball bat, but that's not all… he did this to me then later he killed Spencer, tied him to the front gate, let walkers eat him alive, left Dwight here for me to teach him how to use my crossbow."

Tara remains stunned. Unsure what to say. She finally opens her mouth.

"So he left around five minutes ago?"

Daryl looks confused.

"Yeah, good riddance I say."

Tara gets to her feet and begins to walk to the front gate. Daryl follows her and catches her by the arm.

"Where are you going?"

Tara turns and replies.

"I'm going to find him and kill him."

Daryl shakes his head.

"Nah, Negan said if anything happens to him he'll kill more people, we can't."

Tara places a hand on Daryl's.

"Daryl, I have to… I loved her."

Daryl ponders what she's said for a moment, he slowly nods.

"Fine, but I'm coming."

Tara shakes her head.

"No Daryl, this is on me, I don't want you to get hurt anymore than what you are already."

Daryl reluctantly agrees, not liking what she's said but understanding. He hands her a knife.

"Just be careful, and Tara, you have to make it look like a walker did it."

Tara nods before turning and heading for the gate.

Carol holds her face in her hands, Morgan stands against a nearby wall, his face still, tears running down his cheeks, he doesn't bother to wipe them away. Glenn sits in a chair in front of them, he himself is also quiet, letting Carol and Morgan process what he had just told them. Morgan slowly turns his head to Glenn.

"Ah Rick… he ah he died quickly?"

Morgan asks, his voice tells Glenn that he already knows the answer but is hoping to be wrong, Glenn just remains silent. Morgan nods before turning and opening the door, slamming it behind him, leaving Glenn and Carol alone. Glenn holds his hand on Carol's.

"I'm sorry Carol… we couldn't do anything…"

He stands up to walk out of the room but Carol grips his hand tight, preventing him from going, she looks up at him with teary eyes.

"We have to fight Glenn, we have to kill Negan and all the rest of his men! For Abraham and Rick and everyone else!"

Glenn shakes his head.

"We can't Carol… he has too many men, too much power, he'll just kill more people… maybe even Maggie, we just can't."

Carol tries to think of a way to convince him but the door opens, distracting her from her thoughts. A big man holding a battle axe peers around the edge of the door.

"Uh hey, sorry if I'm interrupting anything but ah Carol? King Ezekiel is ready to meet the group now."

Carol nods and wipes the tears away.

"Thank you Jerry."

The big man smiles before disappearing, Carol stands.

"Get the rest of the group Glenn, it's time."

Glenn nods.

"Anything I should know about this guy?"

Carol gives a small smile.

"He's a genuine guy."

She replies.

"Oh but he has an interesting friend…"

Glenn gives Carol a confused look as they walk out of the room.

The group is lead by Jerry and Carol through the halls until they reach big wooden double doors, Jerry and Carol open each one before standing to the side, letting the group walk into the room first. Glenn looks at Maggie and smiles before she takes her hand, they walk through the doors. Glenn looks around, they have just walked into a massive auditorium, at the end of the room stands a stage. The group walk down the aisle, getting closer and closer to the stage. Glenn can now make out a throne placed directly in the middle of the stage, upon it sits a man. He had dark skin with grey dread-locked hair that went past his shoulders, a black beard also covering his face, he wore a blue shirt, brown pants and black boots. A long brown leather coat overlay the rest of his clothing and white fur ran down either side, a single blue feather sat in his hair and in his right hand, a golden cane with a eagles head carved into the top of it was held. Glenn watches as the man gazes upon the group, a wise and kind look. As the group reaches the end of the aisle, the man stands from his chair.

"Welcome travelers! I am pleased to welcome you to our community! Welcome to The Kingdom!"

The man smiles broadly. Glenn steps forward.

"Thank you! My name is Glenn Rhee and…"

Glenn is cut off when a thunderous sound echoes throughout the auditorium.

"ROOOOAAAR!"

Glenn and the rest of the group look around frantically, Glenn grabs Maggie and keeps her behind him. Suddenly a huge tiger appears behind the group, it begins to sprint toward them, Glenn yells out.

"Watch out! Get out of the way!"

The group brace for the tiger's attack but just as the tiger reaches them it leaps over their heads, landing on the other side of them before pouncing up onto the stage. Glenn looks bewildered as the tiger strolls over to the man and rubs its face against his side, he smiles at the animal before bending down to pick up a chain lying behind the throne, he places it around the tiger's neck and turns back to the group.

"Ah I see you are all frightened, I assure you there is no need! I must apologize, she does like to make an entrance."

Glenn looks around to where Carol stands behind him, he mouths the words 'the friend' she shrugs her shoulders and nods. He turns back to the man.

"I forgot to introduce myself in the excitement of your visit, I am King Ezekiel and this is Shiva!"

Glenn tries to regain his composure and manages a smile. Ezekiel holds his hand out in the group's direction.

"So Glenn Rhee, what brings you and your group here on this day?"

Glenn nods as he responds.

"We've come here to see if The Kingdom could provide us supplies, you see a man called Negan has…"

"Negan?"

Ezekiel asks, cutting Glenn short. Glenn nods.

"Yes, Negan has taken control of our community, he killed our leader and three others. One of our people angered him so he took all of our supplies his first visit, then half the second, but we have not been able to gather enough for both us and him so we are going hungry and do not have enough medicine or weapons."

Glenn pauses, allowing his words to sink in and for Ezekiel to process it. He continues.

"And my wife…"

He motions to Maggie.

"She's pregnant, I'm worried that we will not be able to keep her and the baby healthy."

Ezekiel sits back into his throne and nods to himself.

"Glenn Rhee, I have decided!"

Ezekiel once again stands.

"I King Ezekiel will be more than happy to provide you and your community as much help as we can!"

Glenn can't help but smile, he turns and hugs Maggie. He looks to Ezekiel.

"Thank you Ezekiel! You have really helped us!"

Ezekiel smiles.

"Of course! Now you and your group shall eat! Jerry has set out all the food one would want in the eating hall, please make your way there and eat as much as you need to!"

Glenn leads the group out of the room, none of them see Ezekiel's frown as they leave.


	9. The Conflicts Within

Ezekiel stands at the window, looking out into the night, the flickering light of the candles reflect onto his face. Behind him Carol sits in a chair, deep in thought. She breaks out of it, and starts to speak.

"Why didn't you tell Glenn and the others about how Negan controls this place as well?"

Ezekiel briefly looks over his shoulder and replies.

"Your friends needed a moment of reprieve, telling them would only take their happiness away."

Carol nods, she walks up to Ezekiel and stands beside him, she lays a hand on his shoulder.

"We need to fight back Ezekiel, Negan's getting too much of a problem, he killed their… our leader Rick, he was the strongest man I've ever known and Negan killed him."

Ezekiel turns and faces Carol, his face is serious and slightly looks angry.

"I know Carol, and we will, I have had a plan to take out Negan since he first came into our lives. But we need help."

Carol looks out the window again.

"You need to find out who from Alexandria is willing to fight."

Ezekiel nods.

"Yes, and that is your job, but be careful who you ask, not all will want a fight to occur, if the wrong person hears of The Kingdom's plan, it may be stopped."

Carol walks to the door and looks back as she opens it.

"Leave it to me."

Tara quietly sneaks through the forest, careful not to give away her position to any walkers nearby or to the man she's trying to track down. As she peeks around the tree she's hiding behind she sees an old shack. She listens carefully, loud smashing sounds come from the structure. Tara creeps closer, staying low to the ground out of eyesight. She reaches the shack, she looks at the cracked window above her. She slowly stands to her feet and peers through the window. Inside the house stands Dwight, unaware of Tara watching him, he grabs a vase on a nearby cabinet before tossing it against the wall, it smashes into pieces. Dwight then grabs the handle of the drawer inside the cabinet and tugs it out, he lifts it over his head and smashes it into the floor, a crack sound is heard as the wood splinters under the force. He continues to propel it into the ground until the entire drawer is in pieces and only the metal handle is left in his hand. He looks at it before throwing it in the direction of Tara, she quickly ducks down to prevent him from seeing her, the handle smashes through the window, causing the glass to fall onto Tara. She brushes it off before cautiously peering back into the shack, she sees Dwight now sitting against the wall, he has his face in his hands and knees, Tara isn't sure but he appears to be crying. She once again ducks down and scurries around to the door. She places a hand on the handle and slowly opens the door, she looks through the small gap, Dwight has now gotten to his feet and faces away from her. Tara takes the opportunity and bursts through the door, she slams into Dwight's back sending him face first into the opposite wall, stunned he falls to the floor. Tara then attempts to send a kick into his side but Dwight catches her foot, he tugs on it and pulls her to the floor with him. She lands on her side and Dwight hurries to where she lays, he wraps his arms around her neck in a sleeper hold, keeping his hold tight. Tara can feel the air stop flowing to her lungs as her chest begins to burn, she frantically tries to wriggle and kick her way free but his hold is to strong, she begins to feel faint. She can hear his voice.

"I don't want to do this!"

Tara tries to grab ahold of anything in a last attempt, she feels her hand wrap around a small piece of wood, broken off from the smashed drawer. Tara jabs it over her head behind her, she feels it sink into flesh as it pierces Dwight's shoulder, he lets out a yell as his hold is released. Tara quickly jumps to her feet before looking at Dwight who holds the wound, blood soaks into his shirt. He looks up back at her and holds out a hand in defense. Tara launches a boot into his face, knocking him unconscious.

Dwight awakens and groggily looks around the room, he notices that he's in a sitting position, he tries to stand but realizes he can't. He looks down and sees that he has been tied to the chair that he sits in. He hears footsteps behind him as Tara walks into view. She stands before him, deep anger in her face. Dwight opens his mouth.

"You were her right? Denise's girlfriend?"

Tara moves quickly and slaps Dwight across the face, Dwight feels the sting in his face as he gathers himself.

"Don't you dare say her name asshole!"

Tara yells furiously. She moves her face closer to Dwights.

"She was an amazing beautiful kind person, and you killed her without a second thought! You are a monster!"

Dwight looks down, he feels the guilt inside himself.

"I told Daryl back at Alexandria… I wasn't aiming for her…"

Tara slaps him again.

"So her death was just an accident!? There was no meaning or purpose to you!? You just missed?"

Tara shakes her head.

"Believe it or not that doesn't make it any better!"

Dwight slowly nods. Tara grabs the piece of wood still in his shoulder. She twists it to one side, sending a wave of pain through Dwight's body. She moves her face next to Dwight's.

"I'm going to kill you for what you did to her!"

She tugs on the wood, pulling it from his skin, she throws it to the floor and walks to the door. She turns around.

"I'll be back, think about all the ways I could kill you.

She is about to leave when Dwight speaks.

"You're right you know… I am a monster…"

Tara looks at the man, his face remains to the ground. She looks away and leaves the shack.

Glenn and Maggie get their bags ready, Glenn grabs Maggie's hand suddenly. She looks at him and frowns.

"Are you okay?"

She asks. Glenn tries to smile but fails and shakes his head. Maggie embraces him.

"Glenn, what's wrong?"

Glenn looks into her eyes, she notices that he is now crying. He responds.

"I'm sorry Maggie but this is goodbye for now…"

Maggie looks shocked, her face showing that she's trying to understand.

"What!?"

"Back in Alexandria…"

He begins.

'"Negan told me that if there were any more problems, he'd kill you… I can't have you there Maggie, I just can't! You have to stay here, for you, for me, for the baby…"

Maggie begins to cry but also smiles at Glenn, knowing that he's just trying to protect her. She nods.

"Okay…"

Glenn smiles and the couple kiss, holding each other tight before they are separated.

Glenn takes her hands and holds them tight. Glenn gets up.

"Goodbye Maggie, I'll see you soon! I promise. I love you!"

He quickly leaves the room, preventing himself from staying or changing his mind. He sees Ezekiel standing outside the door, Glenn shakes his hand.

"Look after her."

Ezekiel smiles and replies.

"I swear to you."

From inside the room Maggie smiles.

"I love you too Glenn."

Carol walks up to the group as they reach the main gate of The Kingdom. She calls out to them.

"Hey Glenn! Wait up!"

He turns to see her approaching them, a big backpack sits over her shoulder.

"You're coming with us?"

He asks. She nods.

"Yeah, I figured Alexandria needs my help more than The Kingdom does. Plus there's people I want to see back there."

Glenn smiles and hugs her.

"And Morgan?"

Carol shakes her head.

"He hasn't taken Rick's death well, Ezekiel is keeping an eye on him though so he'll be okay for now."

Glenn nods and steadies his own backpack as he turns toward the now open gate.

"Let's go home."

Tara stands in front of Dwight, now back from where she left to, he sits slumped in his chair, asleep. She slaps him for a third time, he jolts upwards looking around frantically before realizing the situation he is still in. Tara bends down and removes the knife Daryl gave her from her boot. She holds it against his neck, he can feel the steel against his skin, the blade slightly cutting his throat.

"I promised Daryl that I'd make it look like a walker killed you… but if they can't find your body then they also can't blame it on us."

Dwight tries to move his neck away from the blade but is unable to do so. He tries to reason with her.

"If I go missing, he'll still believe it was someone from Alexandria, he'll torture and kill people, maybe you, but more likely your friends. Do you want that?"

Tara is now clearly conflicted, but her expression quickly changes to anger.

"For Denise, it's something I have to take the chance for!"

She moves the blade and readies it to slit Dwight's throat, a loud thud at the door stops her.

She spins and remains quiet, suddenly another thud outside the wall followed by another, the familiar growl begins to become louder and louder with each thud. Dwight looks at Tara.

"It's walkers! A lot of them! Quick let me out!"

Tara scoffs at him. Dwight pleads.

"Please! There's too many for you just to handle, this place is surrounded! You'll never make it!"

Tara looks at him.

"Why should I believe you?"

She asks.

"Cause if you die I'll die, I need you in this situation as well."

The door shakes as more walkers begin to push against it. Tara scrunches up her face before cutting the ropes holding Dwight in place.

Tara crosses over to the mantelpiece and grabs a gun she'd taken from Dwight, she holds the knife out to him, he takes it. The door suddenly cracks open and rotting walkers begin to spill into the shack. Tara and Dwight begin to dispatch the undead invaders, Tara shooting them while Dwight plunges the knife into any walkers that she misses. Eventually only one walker remains, as it gets closer Tara lifts the gun and aims it at the walker's head. She pulls the trigger but only a click happens, she looks at the guns clip, empty, the walker grabs her and prepares to bite her neck. Suddenly the walker goes limp, Tara pushes it away, as it falls onto the ground she sees Dwight standing there, she realizes that he had just stabbed it in the brain. She looks at him strangely.

"Uh thanks I guess…"

She turns to look out the front window.

"It looks like it's all clear, we should probab…"

Dwight strikes her in the head using the hilt of the knife, Tara slumps to the ground as she is knocked out. He bends down and takes the gun, but drops the knife at her side. He moves to the cabinet and struggles to pull it over to the doorway, but manages to block the entrance. He then lifts the window up. Dwight looks at Tara on the ground.

"I really am sorry for killing her."

He then picks up his crossbow that sits on a chair against the wall and crawls through the window before closing it behind him, he gathers his direction before beginning to head back to The Sanctuary.

Back in Alexandria Daryl walks through the streets, he begins to head toward the target practice area when he hears noise. He quietly moves to the nearest wall, hiding behind the corner, he goes to remove his knife but realizes he gave it to Tara. Daryl quickly runs out from the corner and prepares to fight. A scream stops Daryl in his tracks, he sees Rosita sitting on the bench. He lowers his hand and looks at the ground. Rosita gathers her breath.

"What the hell Daryl!?"

Daryl responds.

"Sorry, I thought Dwight had come back…"

He begins to leave but something inside himself stops him. He turns around and sits on the bench. He looks at Rosita.

"How are you doing? I know you had a thing with Spencer."

She looks to her feet, unsure of what to say.

"I know he was an asshole… hell everyone knew he was an asshole."

She continues.

"But he could be an okay guy… occasionally. He was… he was something to move on to."

Daryl grunts at her remark. She looks puzzled.

"What?"

She asks. He shrugs before he answers her.

"Why do you always feel like you need someone?"

Rosita's face flashes with anger but then quickly calms down, realizing that it's a genuine question and not a jab.

"Because otherwise I feel alone."

Daryl nods.

"At least I can relate to that…"

Daryl and Rosita look at each other and begin to lean towards one another.

"Guys!"

A loud voice breaks the two apart as Tara runs in front of them, holding the back of her head.

"Guys I fucked up! Bad!"

Daryl frowns. Rosita replies.

"What happened?"

Tara looks desperately at the pair.

"It's Dwight… He's escaped, he's on his way back to The Sanctuary, Back to Negan… we're all dead..."


	10. The King and The Traitor

Dwight walks into The Sanctuary, past the fences with walker's attached to them, he hears a low rumble of a truck. As he comes around the corner he sees a group of Saviors grouped around the black truck, the front door opens and Negan steps out of it. Dwight reels back behind the corner, not wanting to let Negan see that he's back and hurt. He waits until Negan has walked through the front door before he follows. He sneaks past the Saviors and into the building. Dwight walks through the twisting halls, his boots echoing.

"Gotta find Sherry"

He whispers to himself, finally he reaches the door to the room that Sherry had been told to work in as the doctor's assistant. He places a hand on the doorknob and pauses before pushing the door open. The scene before him catches him off guard, in the middle of the room sits a bed, a woman with dreadlocks lies tied to it. Next to her stands one of the Saviors, he forcefully pulls her trousers around her ankles. Out of nowhere Sherry runs and jumps onto the man's back, screaming and clawing at him.

"Get off her you fucker!"

The man twists his body and Sherry falls off, he pushes her to the ground, she lands on her back dazed. He stands over her.

"You'll be next bitch!"

The man then proceeds to climb onto the bed on top of Michonne. Dwight launches forward and grabs the man by the back, he pulls as hard as he can and throws the man to the ground. The Savior quickly regains composure and gets to his feet.

"Ah Dwight! I've been waiting to kill you too!"

He then throws a punch at Dwight but he dodges it before sending his own punch into the Savior's stomach. The force from the punch causes the man to bend over in pain. Dwight follows it up with a knee to the man's face, a crunch is heard as the Savior is thumped backwards and onto the ground, blood gushing down his face. Dwight picks up one of his crossbow bolts from the hallway, he stands over the Savior.

"You disgusting piece of shit! You deserve this and more!"

Dwight then jams the sharp end of the bolt into the mans groin. He lets out a horrifying scream before passing out. The door to the room slams against the wall as Negan storms into the room.

"What the shit is happening in here!?"

Negan looks around at the scene. He sees Dwight.

"Dwight? What are you doing here? What happened? And please someone tell me why that man has a fucking arrow stuck in his dick!"

Dwight looks around the room. Sherry steps forward.

"The man, he tried to rape Michonne, I tried to stop him but couldn't, Dwight came in just in time and did this."

Negan looks at Dwight but walks past him, he points at Michonne.

"Sherry, get her pants back on."

As Sherry does this he walks next to Michonne and looks into her eyes.

"Is this true Michonne?"

She nods, remaining silent, traumatized by the events.

Negan grimaces, he turns and thunders toward Dwight, who braces himself for an attack. Negan however pats Dwight's back.

"Dwight! Thank fuck you were here! We all know what my views of rape are!"

Dwight nods. Negan points to the man.

"Dwight! Get a wheelchair! Bring that asshole down to the furnace!"

Moments later, the residents of The Sanctuary surround the furnace and Negan, who stands in front of the Savior who attacked Michonne, the bolt still stuck into his groin, blood dripping to the ground below him. Dwight stands next to the furnace, heating the iron up. Negan begins to address the people.

"We are here because someone among us does not know the rules!"

He points to the man in the wheelchair.

"This man here tried to rape a woman, and you all know the rules! What are they!?"

Negan yells, asking the crowd.

"We don't rape!"

The crowd responds all together.

Negan nods.

"That's right! We don't rape! So now this man will face punishment! He will get the iron! Dwight hand it over!"

Dwight lifts the scolding iron out of the furnace using a metal pole, he hands it to Negan who grabs it using heatproof gloves. Negan walks over to the man and pats him on the cheek. The man comes to but instantly freaks out, taking in the bolt in his groin and Negan standing before him with the iron. Negan pushes the iron against the man's face, a sizzling sound is heard as the heat melts the man's flesh, a shrill scream erupts out of the man's mouth. Dwight winces as he remembers the pain he experienced when he got the iron. Negan begins to pull the iron away, the melted flesh peels away from the man's face, liquid hits the ground as the man wets himself. Negan holds the iron out to Dwight as he takes it back. The man in the wheelchair huffs in exhaustion and pain. Negan lifts a finger in the air.

"You know what? I don't think that punishment is fucking harsh enough!"

Suddenly Negan grips the bolt and pulls it from the man's groin, he moves his hand backwards before driving the bolt through the man's eyeball and into his brain, killing him.

Negan smiles and laughs.

"That's fucking more like it!"

Ezekiel stands at a window of a building, he looks across the area, his eyes rest on a factory. The building is surrounded by fences, along each fence walkers are chained to the metal, undead guards to The Sanctuary. A younger man steps next to Ezekiel, he has grey short hair and scruffy stubble. The man begins to speak.

"The people are ready, we have men either side of the compound, snipers in different locations. We're as ready as we're going to be."

Ezekiel nods.

"Good Richard!"

Richard considers what he's going to say.

"Your highness, why did you lie to Carol? You told her that we'd fight with whoever she gathered."

Ezekiel gestures for Richard to follow him further away from the rest of the group.

"I have fallen for Carol, I lied because I do not want her, or her people to be hurt or killed. If she is not here I do not have to worry about her."

Richard nods.

"You ready?"

He asks.

Ezekiel nods.

"Signal to the soldiers, we fight now!"

Suddenly The Sanctuary begins to be pelted with bullets by all sides, the men on the outside get hit and drop to the ground. Ezekiel and the rest of the group storm in through the main entrance. Without warning bullets begin to hit the ground near Ezekiel.

"Take cover!"

He shouts. He and his soldiers dive behind a couple of old rusted cars. Ezekiel peers over the car bonnet. He sees that The Saviors have quickly gotten their bearings and have begun to fire back. Ezekiel looks to the roofs of the building where his men are situated. He sees some of them beginning to fall. A loud shot rings through the air followed by more. The bullets hitting the car stop, Ezekiel looks over once again. All the men who had been firing now lay dead, taken out by Ezekiel's snipers.

"Let's go in!"

Ezekiel's group charges toward the front door and enters the building. Carefully he raises his gun, a group of Saviors appear from around a nearby corridor, Ezekiel pulls the trigger and mows the men down. The soldiers continue to march through the halls, they reach big main metal doors. Ezekiel raises his hand as they come to a stop.

"On three, be ready!"

Ezekiel counts the seconds out on his hand and barges the doors open, the soldiers follow in behind him, each gun points in a different direction, ready to fire. Ezekiel halts, he looks around, confused. Before him huddle a large group of people, children, women and elderly people, in some of their arms lay babies. Ezekiel looks around at his fellow soldiers, they all just shrug.

"You motherfuckers! Thinking you can come into my place and kill my people!?"

Ezekiel turns and raises a gun, he sees Negan walk through the door, suddenly a large number of Saviors come through various doors and surround the men.

"Ezekiel! If I were you I'd tell your men to drop those guns! Give up! All your men including those snipers are dead!"

Ezekiel looks around, he hesitates only slightly. Negan raises his hand.

"Men kill them!"

Ezekiel catches Negan's words and yells.

"NO!"

The Saviors fire their guns and kill Ezekiel's soldiers, leaving only their leader alive.

Negan grabs Ezekiel's gun from him and throws it aside, he points Lucille at Ezekiel.

"Get to your knees!"

Ezekiel feebly falls to his knees. Negan laughs.

"You dumb as shit fucker! I am in control here! You can't kill me, and because of you, your people are dead!"

Negan pauses but continues.

"Oh I did leave two others alive though, apparently they're important to you."

Negan clicks his fingers. Saviors carry two people with bags over their heads and place them next to Ezekiel. The men remove the bags, revealing Richard and a young teenage boy with blonde hair, his name was Benjamin and he was like a son to Ezekiel. Ever since Benjamin's father died Ezekiel had raised the boy as his own. Ezekiel looks up at Negan.

"Please, just kill me not them!"

Negan smiles at Ezekiel.

"No… this is not how it's going to go! I'm going to kill the boy, then the other one and then after you have watched them all being fucking fuckity fucked to death, I will bash in your head with Lucille!"

Negan whistles and walks over in front of Benjamin, who keeps his eyes on the ground.

"Don't worry kid! It'll just take a couple swings!"

Negan raises Lucille in his hands, Ezekiel screams loudly, Negan swings the bat downwards. The wooden bat and barbed wire stops just above Benjamin's head. Negan puts the bat back to his side.

"You know what? I have a better idea. Men load them up!"

Ezekiel watches as The Saviors place bags over Benjamin and Richard's heads before his own face is covered.

Daryl, Rosita and Tara cautiously sneak up to The Sanctuary, they look around the community.

"What the hell?"

Daryl says as he sees the dead bodies lying in the gravel. The three walk up to the pile of bodies, Daryl kneels down.

"Some of these are people from The Kingdom, what the hell happened?"

Rosita shrugs and replies.

"Doesn't matter, we need to get in there while whatever happened has them distracted."

The small group enter The Sanctuary.

They come to a door, they pause outside it.

"This is the last place we have to check, we need to find Dwight before he tells Negan anything, that is if he hasn't already."

Says Tara. Rosita nods.

"It doesn't seem like Negan is here. Same with a lot of his men, this is our best chance to do this."

She responds. Daryl nods.

"Get ready."

Daryl kicks the door open as the three storm into the room. All three of their mouths hang open, in front of them lies Michonne. Daryl quickly runs to her and shakes her awake, she panics but calms down once she realizes who it is. Daryl grabs his knife and cuts the ropes keeping her in place. She then removes the tape from her mouth.

"Daryl! Rosita! Tara! You came! Thank god!"

Daryl hugs her close.

"What are you doing here Michonne!?"

Michonne looks confused.

"I've been here since I ran away into the forest."

Rosita steps forward, her hand over her mouth.

"You've been here for that long!?"

Michonne gingerly nods. She begins to speak.

"If you guys didn't know I was here why are you here!? How did you find this place!?"

Daryl looks at her.

"I tracked Dwight, something went wrong, we came here to stop it."

Loud footsteps come from the hallway. Rosita turns to the door.

"We need to go and now!"

The group quickly leave the room, they make their way out of The Sanctuary and out the front door, as they begin to leave the community yells can be heard behind them.

"Stop them! Kill them!"

Daryl quickly looks back and sees three men pointing their guns at them, The four survivors get into a nearby car and try to start the engine, bullets begin to strike the car, getting closer and closer to the group. To the survivor's obliviousness one of the shooter's falls to the ground, the other two look at the man and sees a bolt sticking out from the man's back, they look around when the second man gets a bolt through the chest. The third man turns to go back inside for cover but is too slow, a third bolt flies through the man's head, killing the man. The car engine roars into life as Daryl, Michonne, Tara and Rosita drive off. Dwight stands on a nearby balcony, lowering the crossbow, watching the car head off in the opposite direction.

"You're welcome."


	11. Blood and Ashes

The bright light stuns Ezekiel as the bag is removed from over his head, he raises his hands to his eyes to block the light. He looks around and sees Richard and Benjamin once again placed beside him, he looks ahead and sees a familiar place, they are outside The Kingdom. Negan appears from behind Ezekiel, he walks in front of him and crouches down so they're face to face.

"Look at this! You're home!"

Ezekiel looks fiercely into Negan's eyes.

"Why are we here Negan!"

Negan smiles.

"You see your highness."

He uses a blatantly obvious sarcastic voice when he says the last two words.

"That attack back there, that involved a lot of your people, I can't help but wonder how many of these other fuckers also want me dead! So I've ordered my men to burn this fucking place to the ground until there's no shit left!"

Ezekiel looks shocked at Negan's words. Negan gets to his feet and walks over to Benjamin.

"Hey kid, you got a brother right?"

Benjamin sneers at Negan.

"If you touch him!"

Negan leans backwards and laughs.

"You'll what kid? You are on your knees! You can't do shit!"

Negan continues.

"Anyway it wasn't so much of a question as telling you we have your fucking brother! Men!"

Two Saviors drag a kid aged around ten out from a truck, they place him down in front of Negan, the boy cries loudly. Negan reaches his hand out and one of the men places a knife into it. He throws it to Benjamin, it lands in front of him in the grass, Benjamin quickly grabs the knife. Negan smiles.

"Good, you're gonna need that knife!"

Benjamin looks confused, Negan explains.

"You see, you're going to kill Richard over there using that knife!"

Benjamin looks over to Richard, they both have shocked looks on their faces, Benjamin looks back at Negan.

"Why would I do that?"

Negan sighs.

"Come on kid isn't it obvious yet? If you don't kill Richard, I'm going to cave in your little brother's head."

Negan moves Lucille next to the young boys skull, causing the boy to become even more frightened.

"The choice is yours but if you do nothing I will kill all four of you!"

Ezekiel becomes angered and yells at Negan.

"Stop these games Negan! The boy has done nothing!"

Negan yells back.

"No, this is on you! These people here, those people in there! They will all die because of you Ezekiel! You should not have tried to kill me!"

He turns back to Benjamin.

"Clocks a ticking Benjamin."

Benjamin looks at the knife in his hand and at Richard before back at the knife, he then just stares at the knife in his hand for minutes. Negan becomes impatient.

"Alright, I did warn you kid!"

Negan is about to lift Lucille when Benjamin charges at Richard and thrusts the knife into Richard's chest, blood begins to run down his body and over Benjamin's hands. Richard begins to cry and choke on his blood, he looks into Benjamin's eyes as he begins to die, he himself begins to cry.

"I'm sorry, I'm sorry, I'm sorry, I had to…"

Benjamin pulls the knife from Richard's chest and the man thuds into the grass, his eyes remain open as he dies. Benjamin falls slumped over, unable to process what he has just done. Ezekiel lowers his head, feeling guilt and sadness at losing Richard. Negan looks shocked himself.

"Holy shit! I was not expecting that crap! That was something!"

He walks over to Benjamin and takes the knife out of his hand, he then plunges it into Richard's brain before placing it into his own belt. He walks back to the middle.

"Now I know today has been one hell of a fucking day but I'm sorry to say it is not over! Because you assholes don't seem to understand that I am in charge! I still have to burn The Kingdom down."

Negan turns around and sees dark smoke rise into the air.

"Look at that timing!"

He exclaims proudly.

Inside The Kingdom Morgan frantically runs through the halls of the community, he knocks on all the doors to get people out before the flames engulf them, he reaches a room and enters it. Inside is a huge cage, Shiva is inside, trapped by the lock on the door. She claws at the metal bars, sensing the danger. Morgan frantically looks around for the keys, he see's the drawer that Ezekiel normally leaves them in. He rushes over to them, he opens them but they remain empty. Morgan looks up as he hears screams of agony, people caught in the blaze, he looks at Shiva but looks away and heads for the door, he pauses.

"No I can't leave her!"

Morgan turns and readies his staff in both hands, he slams the wood against the padlock, nothing changes, he slams it again, still nothing. As time goes on he can feel the increasing heat of the fire, and can hear more screams. Again and again he strikes the lock with his staff, each hit creating cracking sounds as the wood splinters, sweat drips down Morgan's forehead. Morgan sends down one last hit and the padlock cracks open while a snap sound is heard as the staff cracks in two. Morgan throws the halves to the ground and swings open the cage door, Shiva lets out a thunderous roar before sprinting out the cage and out the door to safety. Morgan quickly follows and enters the hallway, the fire is now right next to him, he turns and runs away, escaping the blaze.

Glenn looks into the sky, he see's thick black plumes of smoke, dread fills his stomach. He'd decided to turn back to stay with Maggie for a few more days and had now just reached The Kingdom's gates. He quickly sprints into the community and sees various places on fire, he looks around at the survivors, looking for his wife.

"Maggie! Maggie! Where are you!?"

There is no response. Glenn rushes to the building where she was staying, the place is on fire. Glenn kicks the door open and charges into the hall. He looks around, most of the hall is on fire, Glenn covers his mouth and nose with his shirt and darts through the areas where the fire hasn't overtaken yet. He hears faint thumping, he runs to the door that he hears the noise coming from. He taps against the door.

"Maggie is that you!?"

A voice calls out from behind the door.

"Glenn!? Glenn? Is that you!?"

Glenn places his head against the door in relief.

"Yes it's me! We need to get you out the place is on fire!"

Maggie replies to him.

"The door's stuck! I can't get out!"

Glenn takes a step back.

"Maggie, get away from the door!"

Glenn sends a boot into the door, it crunches slightly.

"Maggie can you help? Is there anything you can use?"

There's a pause as she looks for something. Suddenly there's a loud thud as Maggie launches a fire extinguisher into the door. The couple alternate hitting the door until finally it swings open. Glenn grabs the extinguisher.

"Let's go!"

Glenn and Maggie dodge the flames as Glenn uses the extinguisher to create a path for them to escape. As they run down the stairs and out of the building a loud explosion causes the building to partly collapse. The two bend over, hands on their knees, heaving air. Glenn looks around and sees Morgan next to Shiva, he slowly walks over to him.

"Morgan we need to get these people out of here and away from the buildings!"

Morgan nods.

"You gather the people that way and I'll go this way, we'll meet in the field outside The Kingdom."

Glenn nods and the two men go opposite directions, gathering up and leading the lucky ones who escaped the blaze.

Shortly after the group of survivors walk through the field, Glenn sees three people kneeling in the grass. Glenn runs ahead and sees that it's Ezekiel. He looks at Richard's body.

"Ezekiel? What the hell happened?"

Ezekiel doesn't look at him, he only says one word.

"Negan."

Glenn replies to Ezekiel.

"What do you mean Negan? Why would he burn The Kingdom down!?"

Ezekiel remains quiet, Glenn forcefully grabs Ezekiel by the shirt and forces him to look at him.

"Ezekiel! What happened!"

Ezekiel speaks quietly, now a defeated man.

"We tried to attack The Sanctuary… we failed, lots of people died, he brought us here, forced Benjamin to kill Richard. He burnt The Kingdom down to teach us not to mess with him… We shouldn't have…"

Glenn releases Ezekiel's shirt. He looks at the man.

"No you really shouldn't have…"

Glenn looks around at the people. He crouches down next to Ezekiel.

"Look around! You have people left! You can either lead them to The Hilltop or to Alexandria, but you stay at The Hilltop. Because of your attack on Negan, my wife and baby almost died!"

Glenn gets to his feet and looks around at the survivors, all of them terrified.

"We need to go! Follow me! We're going to get you to safety!"

The truck rolls into The Sanctuary, it comes to a halt with a hiss. Negan opens the door and steps down from the seat. He looks around the area, he can see his men cleaning up the bodies that had been left from the battle. He walks past a group of Saviors, he sees that one of the men is about to kill one of the men who had now turned into a walker. Negan grips the man's arm.

"No, the pricks who have turned can go on the fence!"

Negan continues and gets to the steps of the main doors, Dwight stands there waiting.

"What's the situation?"

Dwight remains looking forward.

"We had a problem…"

Negan's face hardens and his jaw clenches.

"What kind of fucking problem!?"

Negan and Dwight walk through the halls until they reach Negan's room, a group of Saviors stand outside the door, guarding the room, they step to the side and let Negan and Dwight in. Negan turns to Dwight.

"Tell me!"

Dwight looks at Negan.

"It was the Alexandrians sir, Daryl and some others, they came and took the woman you had tied up."

Negan's face turns red, he turns and uses Lucille to smash a pile of glasses and bottles of wine, sending glass everywhere. He pauses and turns to Dwight.

"Then how the fucking fuckity hell did they find where this place was!?"

Dwight remains looking straight ahead, careful to remain emotionless.

"It's possible they tracked me when I came back sir."

Negan steps closer to Dwight.

"That is fucking unacceptable! Not only have you let them take my fucking secret weapon! But now they know where we are!"

Negan's voice grows louder with each word.

"Dwight, you are going to have to be punished!"

Negan walks up to the door and opens it.

"Men teach Dwighty boy here a fucking lesson!"

The men swarm into the room and throw Dwight to the ground, they begin to punch and kick him over and over. Negan walks out the door.

"Once you're done we leave for Alexandria, it looks like more fuckers need to be burnt alive!"

Daryl drives the car up to the gates of Alexandria, he stops as he sees the gate wide open with people all around the community, some appear to be covered in ash. Daryl, Rosita, Tara and Michonne get out of the car and wander through the crowd.

"Daryl!?"

A voice alerts Daryl to his right, Glenn comes from within a group of people.

"Where the hell have you guys been!?"

Daryl gives Glenn a small smile before he steps aside to reveal Michonne. Glenn looks at her for a moment, not knowing if he's hallucinating or not. Michonne smiles at him.

"It's me Glenn."

Glenn rushes forward at the confirmation and hugs Michonne tight. As the two break apart Daryl speaks.

"Who are these people?"

Glenn replies.

"They're from The Kingdom, they tried to attack Negan but failed, Negan killed a lot of them, burnt the community to the ground."

Daryl responds.

"That explains the bodies at The Sanctuary…"

Glenn frowns, putting the clues together.

"You were at The Sanctuary!"

Daryl nods.

"I'm sorry Glenn… we had to.. Tara took Dwight hostage but escaped, we went to stop him but found Michonne instead, we need to get ready, he'll be on his way…"

Glenn grimaces at this news, he quickly rushes off into the crowd. Jesus sees Daryl and marches toward him.

"Daryl! I'm glad I saw you, Earl finished that thing you had him make."

Jesus hands Daryl a box, Daryl takes it. He opens the box and removes the contents. Daryl looks down, in his hand sits a metal brace that goes on the end of his arm, on top of the brace sits a miniaturized crossbow with smaller bolts beside it. Jesus smiles.

"Earl told me what to tell you, he said it's easily pulled back with one hand, the bolts can be fired fast enough to be lethal, to release the bolt just push that button at the top. The crossbow part can be removed and replaced with a hook attachment."

Daryl places the attachment onto the end of his arm and tightens it, he pulls back the drawstring back with his left hand and places a small bolt into it, he holds his arm out straight and aims it in a direction. A loud siren alerts all the residents to a single location from where the sound came from. The residents turn to see Glenn standing on top of a car holding a megaphone, he begins to speak into it.

"Everyone! We are in Danger! Negan is on his way and he is out for blood, he will try to kill us! But we must not let him in! I am not telling you to fight and I'm not telling you not to fight… I myself do not want to retaliate with force but if it comes down to it I will kill Negan and his Saviors to protect this place and the people within it! So ready yourselves, we can not let Negan kill anyone else, so who's with me!?"

A strong unified yell comes from the crowd showing their support for Glenn, he looks over the people and smiles, for the first time in a long time, he feels hope.


	12. The Escape

Sherry rushes through the halls of The Sanctuary, she feels panicked and her breathing is heavy and fast. She had heard in the living quarters that Negan had ordered his men to punish him, she had to find him, she had to make sure he was okay. She reaches Negan's room and presses an ear to it, carefully listening to any noise on the inside, nothing. Sherry bursts into the room, she looks around and sees the chairs and tables scattered over the floor. She begins to pick up one of the fallen chairs when she hears a quiet groan from the corner of the room, she looks at the man lying against the wall.

"Dwight!?"

She rushes to his side and places both hands either side of his face as she looks at the damage the men had done. Dwight had numerous cuts and bruises over his entire face, his nose looks crooked and has a deep laceration across the bridge, probably a broken nose. His left eye is swollen and black, his bottom lip completely split. Sherry looks into his eyes, he's trying to remain conscious. Sherry pulls Dwight's head against her chest.

"Oh Dwight… what did they do?…"

He suddenly becomes more aware as he hears her voice, he gently lifts his head to try look up at her face.

"Sherry? Is that you?"

Sherry nods and replies.

"Yes its me."

Dwight now has focus in his eyes, he reaches for her hand and takes it in his.

"Sherry, I'm sorry for everything that has happened to us… to you because you wanted to keep me alive here. Recently I've realized this place has turned me into someone I'm not… a monster…"

Sherry shakes her head.

"You're not a monster Dwight."

Tears start to well in his eyes as he looks up at her again.

"I killed a woman, in cold blood Sherry, just cause he told me to. I lost you to him, just because that's what he wanted… I don't want to do what he tells us to anymore!"

Sherry looks confused.

"What are you saying D?"

Dwight gingerly sits up and takes her other hand.

"Let's get out of here, right now, we leave and never see Negan again."

Sherry looks conflicted, she looks back and forth along the ground, carefully thinking about the consequences and benefits, after a long silence, she looks back to Dwight.

"Yes…"

Joy fills Dwight as he hears her answer, he smiles.

"You really mean it? Right now?"

Sherry nods enthusiastically, returning the smile.

"I mean it Dwight, let's go!"

Dwight and Sherry lunge into a hug, as they break apart Dwight kisses her forehead, she looks into his eyes and leans forward. The two kiss for the first time since she had become one of Negan's wife.

"Well well, Negan isn't going to be happy about this Dwighty boy!"

The two quickly separate and turn to see one of the Saviors standing in the doorway. Sherry gets to her feet and holds out her hands.

"Please! Don't tell him, we're just going to leave and that'll be it!"

The Savior just smirks and pushes her aside.

"Sherry you know that's not how it works! Looks like Dwight needs another beating so he remembers the dog he is!"

The man begins to walk toward Dwight, he picks up one of the chairs and readies it to slam into Dwight. Suddenly without warning Sherry jumps onto the man's back and wraps her arms around his neck, the man yells, dropping the chair and tries to rip her off his back. Sherry clings to the man tightly which forces him to fall to the ground only a meter away from Dwight who takes the opportunity.

"Hold him Sherry!"

She clutches tighter, making it hard for the man to move, Dwight launches a kick to the man's face, a loud crack indicating that Dwight just broke the man's nose. Again and again Dwight kicks the man in the face, each kick causing cuts and blood to emerge on the Saviors face while also knocking the man closer and closer into unconsciousness. Dwight sends one last kick into the man's face who finally stops moving. Sherry and Dwight get to their feet, Sherry begins to turn to exit the door.

"Dwight let's go!"

Dwight nods and grabs his crossbow that sits on Negan's desk. They leave the room. As they enter the hallway they see more Saviors standing a few meters away. Dwight leans closer to Sherry.

"Just stay quiet and walk."

The couple begin to walk in the opposite direction of the men but one of them notices the fleeing pair.

"Hey Sherry! Where are you going with that asshole!"

Dwight whispers to Sherry.

"Just keep moving!"

Dwight and Sherry continue walking, the man calls out once more.

"Hey Sherry! I was talking to you!"

The men now begin to walk down the hallway, they reach Negan's room and look in, they see the unconscious man.

"What the hell!?"

Dwight yells out to Sherry.

"Run!"

He twists and faces the men, raising his crossbow and firing one of the bolts which flies through the air and hits one of the men in the chest. The attack causes enough confusion to give Dwight and Sherry enough time to leave through the door behind them.

Dwight and Sherry burst out of the front door of The Sanctuary and leap down the stairs, they begin to sprint down the main entrance toward an awaiting car. A loud bang alerts Dwight to the presence of a group of Saviors also emerging from the door, they begin to load their guns. Dwight stops running, Sherry turns around.

"Dwight what are you doing!? We need to go!"

Dwight looks at the ground and smiles, he shakes his head.

"Go! If one of us doesn't hold them off we both die! Get to the car! Get as far away from here as you can!"

Sherry smiles at Dwight, a smile of both happiness and sadness.

"I love you!"

Dwight smiles.

"I love you too! Now go!"

Sherry turns and runs toward the car, the men begin to raise their guns and fire, a few bullets land behind Sherry's feet. Dwight leaps behind an old rusted out car and fires a bolt back at the men, creating a moment for Sherry to escape. She reaches the car and gets into the driver's seat before starting the engine and skidding off. More bullets begin to tear into the old car wreck, putting Dwight in danger. In the loud chaos of bullets he can't help but feel at peace, Sherry was now away from Negan, and one way or another soon he was going to be too.

Glenn can hear something in the distance, he tries to focus on the sound, as he realizes it's getting closer he turns to the rest of the residents.

"Get away from the gate!"

As Glenn yells a loud clang confirms Glenn's fears. He looks at the gate as a large black truck collides into the metal gate, tearing it from it's hinges as it tumbles along the pavement. The truck screeches to a stop while more trucks follow it into the community. Men upon men exit the trucks and begin to surround the residents, holding guns up to their faces, circling everyone until there are no exits. One last man gets out of the truck and walks into the circle, he strolls right up to Glenn.

"You fucking asshole! You couldn't just keep your nose out of it could you!?"

Glenn looks at Negan and scowls.

"I didn't want this Negan! I didn't want any of this! But you had one of our friends! You can take half our stuff but you can't take one of us!"

Negan stares at Glenn, his face remaining angry.

"I had that woman in case something like this fucking happened! I am tired of your people's shit! I tried my hardest to make this fucking easy for you! I thought by killing the red head and your leader that that shit would fucking show you that you can't mess with me!"

Negan shakes his head. He continues speaking.

"But apparently I was fucking wrong! So now… I want you to choose five of your people so I can line them up right here and fucking bash in their mother fucking fuckity fucking heads!"

Glenn looks around at his people, he turns back to Negan and steps closer to him.

"You won't be doing anything to anyone!"

Negan chuckles.

"What the fuck did you just say!?"

Glenn remains looking at Negan.

"I said you won't be touching anyone here! Not Daryl! Not Michonne! Not Rosita! Not Maggie! Not Sasha! No one!"

Negan has now lost all amusement at Glenn's refusal. He slams Lucille into the concrete.

"Look around you fuck! You have at least a hundred men surrounding you with guns, it's just like that night where I spread your friends brains all over the fucking ground! It isn't going to be any different now!"

Glenn smiles and moves his face even closer to Negan's, he looks him right in the eyes.

"You know what Negan?"

He pauses.

"Go to hell!"

Glenn quickly turns to the rest of the community and yells.

"Drop to the ground!"


	13. The War Begins

Negan looks on bewildered as each resident drops to the ground, suddenly bullets begin to tear through the Saviors, sending them falling to the concrete. Negan spins as he sees the survivors from The Kingdom swarm out of the surrounding houses, catching the Saviors off guard.

"What the shit! Those assholes are meant to be dead!"

Negan yells as he runs for cover. The Saviors begin to fire back creating a gap for the residents of Alexandria to escape, they head for the armoury, Morgan and Carol hand out guns as they come, the Kingdom survivors keeping the Saviors at bay. Glenn begins to run toward the armoury when something hits his arm, pain shoots up and down his body, he clutches at his arm. He feels something wet and warm, blood. He looks at his arm and sees a bullet has hit him.

"Glenn!"

Maggie yells over the commotion of the battle, running toward Glenn.

"Maggie? You need to get out of here! It's not safe!"

Maggie grabs his hand.

"You need to get that looked at! You're not much help if you can't use that arm."

Glenn frowns but reluctantly nods.

"I'll get patched up but then I need to get back out here."

Maggie turns and pulls Glenn in the direction of the nearest house. Suddenly something big collides into Glenn, he flails and lands hard onto the pavement, rolling a few times before getting to his feet. He looks and sees the cause of his fall, he sees Negan standing in front of him, realizing that he had tackled him out of the way. Glenn gets to his feet and begins to charge toward Negan when Negan waves Lucille from side to side.

"Nope I wouldn't if I were you asshole!"

Negan steps aside revealing Maggie on her knees. Glenn stops instantly and holds out his hand.

"Don't you dare touch her!"

Negan shakes his head.

"Look Glenn, this isn't on me… not what is about to happen, this was you and your people! You have forced me to go this far. So I am about to bash your wife's skull in and in doing so killing your baby… I really wish it hadn't come to this but this is happening, and you will watch it fucking happen!"

Glenn lets out a yell and charges at Negan, who also charges in Glenn's direction, he swings Lucille, slamming the bat into Glenn's ribs. Glenn groans and falls to his knees. Negan shakes his head again.

"Just stay down! Make this easy on yourself! Just watch me kill her!"

Glenn gets to his feet and charges again, Negan sends the bat into Glenn's chest, he falls to the ground again, heaving for air as it's knocked out of his lungs. Maggie screams. Negan turns to her.

"Don't worry honey, I'll get to you soon."

Glenn's arms and legs shake as he gets to his feet once again, he runs at Negan, yelling loudly, as he reaches where Negan stands Negan sidesteps Glenn and swings the bat into Glenn's back. The blow causes Glenn to topple over and tumble along the hard ground, he lands on his front, landing directly in front of Maggie who is now crying, her hands over her mouth. Glenn feebly looks up at his wife, Negan walks over to them and stands behind Maggie, Glenn tries to get to his feet but his body fails.

"I'm sorry Glenn! But I have to do this! Say goodbye to your wife and baby!"

Negan raises Lucille in his hands, Maggie closes her eyes, Glenn calls out to his wife.

"No! Maggie!"

Negan swings Lucille downwards...

As the bat is swung down an extra loud gunshot echoes louder through the battlefield, Glenn looks up, waiting for the bat to strike his wife's head, but it never comes. Glenn looks up to Negan, his mouth hangs open and his eyes wide, Lucille is now by his side. He looks down and clutches his stomach, Glenn sees blood drip through the gaps of his fingers as it seeps out of the wound. Glenn looks on, as confused as Negan, Glenn manages to look past Negan. Meters away he picks out a figure still holding a rifle in Negan's direction, the figure wears a cowboy hat on his head and appears to have one eye covered. Negan turns around still holding the gunshot wound, he also sees the figure.

"What the hell! Carl you one eyed fucking skull fuck!"

Negan falls to his knees, Glenn crawls his way to Maggie and the pair help each other to their feet.

"We need to get out of here Maggie!"

As Glenn and Maggie disappear into the carnage Simon scurries to Negan's side and helps him to his feet. Negan grips Simon's collar.

"Tell the men to kill every fucking last one of them!"

Simon shakes his head.

"You're badly hurt Negan, we need to retreat!"

Negan spits on the ground.

"No fuck that!"

Simon sighs and yells out to the Saviors.

"Take them all out!"

The Saviors continue to fire at the residents when suddenly a roar comes from the gate.

Negan and Simon turn to see Ezekiel standing in the middle of the entrance, Shiva at his side. He raises his sword in the air.

"Saviors! Face the might of Shiva!"

Shiva leaps into battle, pouncing on Saviors, sinking her teeth into one before slashing another man's stomach clean open, spilling his guts. Simon looks at Negan.

"Fucking fine! Saviors retreat!"

Simon helps Negan get back into the truck as the rest of the Saviors empty their clips against the crowd, creating a chance to also get back into the trucks. Each engine fires into life. Glenn steps to the front of the crowd, his arm now bandaged.

"Stop the trucks!"

As the trucks begin to leave Alexandria Daryl steps forward and uses his crossbow attachment to fire a bolt into one of the tires of the truck, air hisses out of it as it deflates. Glenn then nods at Carol who throws a grenade which lands under the truck. A loud boom is heard as the truck explodes, sending shrapnel and fire against the rest of the convoy. Negan looks out the window as his truck leads the way in retreat.

"Fuck you!"

His words go unheard as cheers erupt amongst the community.

Negan takes a seat onto the bench, a woman wraps his stomach in a bandage.

"It was definitely a bad wound but you'll be okay Sir!"

Negan nods and waves her away, he puts his shirt back on. Simon walks into the room.

"Sir, I don't want to add insult to injury but…"

Negan sighs.

"Today has been a shit hole of a fucking shit filled day! Just tell me Simon."

Simon nods.

"Well Sir, it's Sherry, she's escaped, there's a bunch of Saviors also missing, we think she killed them."

Negan slams his hand against the bench.

"And how the fuck did she manage that!"

Simon looks at Negan.

"No one's seen Dwight either…"

Negan shakes from anger.

"That asshole better be where I left him!"

Negan storms through the hallways, smashing Lucille against the walls in anger as he walks toward his room, he sees the door of his room partially open, he slams his boot against the door, stepping into the room. He looks around.

"Dwight?"

He asks, confused and surprised that the man is still lying against the wall in the corner.

Dwight looks up at the leader.

"Yes Sir?"

Dwight winces and grabs his ribs as he sits up. Negan begins to speak.

"Sherry, she's escaped, you know anything about that Dwight?"

Dwight takes a moment to respond but then shakes his head.

"No Sir, I haven't been able to move since the punishment."

Negan looks carefully at Dwight.

"Who are you Dwight?"

Dwight responds almost automatically.

"I'm Negan."

Negan smiles and kneels down to pat Dwight on the shoulder, causing Dwight to wince once again.

"Good to see I still have my best soldier! Now get ready Dwight!"

Dwight looks back at Negan.

"For what?"

Negan stands to his feet and replies.

"We're going to war!"

Dwight steps into the forest, the thick leaves and branches of the trees concealing his movements from anyone watching. He walks further and further into the trees until he reaches a small hollow in the ground, he bends down and wraps his hand around something. Dwight tugs and pulls the bolt from the man's head, he pulls another out of another skull and another and another until all bolts are removed from the Saviors head's, the same Saviors he killed to help Sherry escape. Dwight holds the bolts in his hand and looks at the bodies sprawled across the ground. He smiles.

"Negan, I'm going to make sure you lose this war, and then, I'm going to kill you…"

Glenn stands on the stage, people surround him, looking up at the man who has kept them alive in times of horror. He looks across the crowd, seeing not only friends but family. Glenn begins to speak to the survivors.

"We need to get ready! We need to find more people to help us! We won the battle today but this war is just starting… I didn't want this to happen but Negan gave us no other choice! He has forced us to fight! We fight for our freedom, for our family and for our future!"

Glenn pauses before continuing.

"Negan doesn't understand, he thinks because he has more firepower and more men that he has this won, but as long as we have each other, as long as one person is willing to fight against Negan, we can do this! We can win this war, we will win this war!"

The survivors raise their fist and cheer, each and every person ready for the what's to come.

Glenn looks over the crowd once more, his eyes trail over the applauding people, they stop on the cemetery, and just for a moment he thinks he sees Rick standing there smiling back at him.

\- Thank you to everyone who has read this story, if you enjoyed it and would like to continue Glenn's journey then carry on and read my next story called ' **A Leader Found** ' which can be found under my profile. -


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